Justin Amash: The conservative who could cost Donald Trump re-election
The conservative politician who could cost Donald Trump the presidency has confirmed he is considering a bid for the White House.
Congressman Justin Amash, a former Republican who resigned the party in order to vote to impeach Mr Trump, may run as a third-party candidate for the presidency.
Mr Amash may run as an independent or possibly on the yet-to-be-filled Libertarian Party ticket.
Replying to a Twitter follower who urged him to run, Mr Amash replied he was "looking at it closely this week".
Mr Amash was responding to Mr Trump's claims today that the president's "authority is total, and that's the way it's gotta be".
Justin Amash has the reputation as one of the most conservative politicians in Washington. AP
Mr Amash is a strong believer in a weak federal government, with most power vested in the states.
Last week he also put forward his dissatisfaction with the current presidential field.
The chances of a third-party candidate being elected president are incredibly remote.
But Mr Amash's candidacy could peel many conservative voters away from Mr Trump, which would be great news for centre-left Democrat Joe Biden.
America has a first-past-the-post electoral system, so minor party votes do not get reassigned, as in the Australian system.
The previous Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, attracted voters from across the political spectrum with a heavy emphasis on drug legalisation.
Gary Johnson was the 2016 Libertarian nominee to be president. AP
Mr Amash has a reputation as one of the most conservative members of Congress, a former Tea Party Republican who built his career on low taxes and advocating for "small government".
As a consequence, Mr Amash could siphon many skittish Trump voters to his side, but without appealing to disaffected left-wing voters.
Perhaps worse still for Mr Trump, Mr Amash is well-known in his home of Michigan, one of the most crucial battleground states.
Justin Amash resigned from the Republican Party and voted to impeach Donald Trump. AP
Mr Trump won Michigan in 2016 by just 11,000 votes.
Current polling shows Mr Biden in a winning position over Mr Trump, though his lead is not overwhelming.
It should be noted that Mr Biden's current polling edge is near-identical to the one Hillary Clinton had over Mr Trump this time four years ago.
Ms Clinton received nearly three million more votes than Mr Trump in 2016, but the electoral college granted Mr Trump a narrow win.
Donald Trump called a CBS reporter a 'fake' for asking about the White House's inaction on coronavirus in February. AP
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