Buddy Roemer is Leaving the GOP, But Not the Horse Race

Buddy Roemer still wants to be president, just not as a Republican, he said on Wednesday. He's planning to run as an independent.

Buddy Roemer still wants to be president, just not as a Republican, he said on Wednesday, instead planning to seek the presidency as an independent. The former Republican governor of Louisiana who switched parties from the Democrats while he was in office in 1991 announced on Wednesday he was done with the Republicans as well. "I have decided to take my campaign directly to the American people by declaring my candidacy for Americans Elect. Also, after many discussions with The Reform Party, I am excited to announce my intentions of seeking their nomination," he wrote in a statement, according to Policital Wire. It's not like Roemer was ever a serious contender: Most states omitted him from their primary ballots and he didn't participate in any Republican debates. Back in November, the New Orleans Times-Picayune predicted that Americans Elect could put Roemer on the presidential ballot. The Republicans sure weren't going to do it.