Roger Stone says he will decide by the end of the year whether he will run for governor of Florida on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2014.
And if he decides to run, the colorful former Republican operative who has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back tells The Daily Caller he’d make marijuana a big focus of his campaign.
In fact, the former Nixon aide says he’d like to announce his decision about whether he will run during the annual Hempfest at Florida State University in 2014 on April 20, a day in which marijuana enthusiasts typically smoke vast amounts of pot.
Stone also told TheDC that if he ran, he’d like to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot for medicinal marijuana in 2014 in order to get the pro-pot voters to the polls. He pointed out that the Libertarian Party in Florida has 38,000 registered members.
Stone is scheduled to address the Libertarian Party of Miami-Dade, according to an invitation obtained by TheDC. That poster describes Stone as a “legendary political strategist” and “prospective candidate for governor.”
In an interview with the National Review, Stone asserted that, “I don’t have any illusions about winning, but I’d like to carry the flag for the liberty movement.”
“The Republican party is dead and it can’t be revived, so it’s time for the Libertarian party to be a force.”
In 2014, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is expected to run for re-election. Former Republican governor and recent convert to the Democratic Party Charlie Crist is also expected to ponder a campaign to return to the office.
“I’d love to debate CRIST and SCOTT,” Stone told TheDC in an email Thursday.
Asked who would run his campaign, Stone said it wouldn’t be him: “The candidate who manages his own campaign has a fool for a campaign manager.”
Invoking Nixon’s former attorney general and campaign director who served 19 months in prison after Watergate, Stone added: “Looking for my ‘John Mitchell.’”