Former CIA Operations Officer, Evan McMullin, To Launch Third-Party Bid For President
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/CBS News) -- Evan McMullin, a former CIA operations officer and chief policy director for the House Republican Conference on Capitol Hill, is launching a third-party conservative bid for president.
The 40-year-old McMullin will file paperwork Monday with the Federal Elections Commission as a presidential candidate, CBS News confirmed.
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"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 on his official Facebook page. "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 better choice for President."
McMullin has already launched a website for his presidential bid as well as social media accounts, where he has already criticized Trump.
The deadlines to get onto states' ballots have already passed in 26 states. He could potentially get onto roughly 26 state ballots, but it could also be a maximum of about 16 because more states have deadlines this week, CBS News reported.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough hinted Monday that an experienced conservative would announce an independent bid for president and Buzzfeed first reported McMullin's independent bid.
According to MSNBC's s "Morning Joe," McMullin has the backing of key financial contributors to the Republican party.
McMullin joined the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2013 as a senior advisor and became the chief policy director of the House Republican Conference, according to his Facebook page.
He was an operations officer for the CIA for 11 years and has also worked at Goldman Sachs. He's never held elected office.
