Justin Amash May Not Even Be the Most Important Third-Party Candidate

Tuesday’s announcement from Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) that he is seeking the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination made the bigger splash. But former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura’s statement that he is pursuing the Green Party’s presidential nod might make the bigger impact.

In a sense, Amash is simply joining the party to which he belongs. He was always described as a libertarian or libertarian-leaning congressman. A co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, Amash has been a consistent critic of spending increases and the Patriot Act. He claims libertarian idols Friedrich Hayek and Frédéric Bastiat as his political heroes, told Time magazine that his favorite blog was Café Hayek and joined FreedomWorks co-founder Matt Kibbe at the libertarian music festival, Laissez Fair, last year. These are not the marks of a typical Reagan Republican.