By Tom LoBianco
WASHINGTON — (CNN) Conservative Republicans have recruited a former CIA staffer and top House GOP aide to launch an independent White House bid against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Evan McMullin is expected to formally enter the race soon, a source close to the recruiting effort told CNN Monday. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal paperwork has not been completed yet.
McMullin, who had been the policy director for the House Republican Conference, is a longshot for the White House at best — facing high hurdles in the form of ballot access deadlines that have already passed in many states — but will offer anti-Trump conservatives an alternative to Trump and Clinton. McMullin’s presence could be felt most in Utah, where anti-Trump conservatives rallied behind Ted Cruz in the primaries and McMullin has one week to make the ballot.
“The House Republican Conference has zero knowledge of his intentions,” said Nate Hodson, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference.
An aide to the Conference said Monday morning that McMullin is no longer an employee of the Conference.
Anti-Trump Republicans, led by Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, stumbled in earlier efforts to recruit someone to run and some of Trump’s most vocal opponents, like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, have ruled themselves out of running.
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