Latter-day Saint Announces Anti-Trump Presidential Bid

Latter-day Saint, BYU Grad, and not-Mitt-Romney, Evan McMullin has begun filing the paper work for an Independent presidential bid.

“In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it’s time for a generation of new leadership to step up,” McMullin said in a statement. “It’s never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us. I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for president.”

McMullin, a former CIA counterterrorism officer, resigned as chief policy director of the House Republican Conference. His candidacy will be backed by Better for America, as well as many other Republicans and Anti-Trump donors.

McMullin received a bachelor’s degree in international law and diplomacy from BYU and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania — the same school where Donald Trump earned his MBA.

His candidacy appeals to conservatives who cannot bring themselves to vote for Donald Trump. He is expected to gain traction in Utah, where Republican support of Trump is especially low, due to his battling with Romney and lack of prominent Christian standards. McMullin is a more conservative candidate, wearing his standards on his sleeve, and offers a less polarized view of muslims. McMullin responded to Trumps statements about Muslims with the following:

“As Donald Trump continues attacking Muslims and as a former CIA officer, I’d like all Americans to know the truth: American and other Muslims have played a central role in virtually every counterterrorism win we’ve had since 9/11. They are an indispensable asset in this fight. Attacking them as a group makes America weaker, not stronger.”

However great a candidate he may or may not be, McMullin is handing in his papers a bit late; like, over-50%-off-your-grade late. Around 26 states have already closed their ballots to incoming presidential hopefuls, with more deadlines coming up this week. McMullin could potentially be listed on the ballots of 26 states if he gets his papers in today, but that number might go down to a maximum of 16 by the end of this week.

McMullin has until next Monday to collect 1,000 signatures to secure himself a spot on the Utah ballot before it closes.

Listen to an exclusive interview with Evan McMullin here.