Elections

Libertarian-leaning Rep. Justin Amash considering Senate run

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
Font Size:

WASHINGTON — It wasn’t a typical introduction for a member of Congress.

“Most recently, he had the honor of being distinguished as a libertarian ‘wacko bird’ by Sen. John McCain.”

The crowd of young libertarians sipping pints of Guinness at a downtown D.C. Irish pub on Wednesday night burst into applause at what they considered to be a badge of honor for this rising star, seen as part of a new crop of liberty-movement legislators.

The host concluded: “Please join me in welcoming Congressman Justin Amash!”

Amash, the 32-year year old Republican from Michigan who has displayed a knack for getting into it with the establishment of his party, flashed a wide smile. “Thanks so much!”

With Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin recently announcing his retirement from the U.S. Senate, Amash acknowledged during the Wednesday night “Liberty on the Rocks” gathering at the D.C. bar Mackey’s that he is now thinking hard about jumping into the race to replace Levin in 2014.

“The Senate seat in Michigan is an open seat,” Amash explained. “I definitely will take a good look at it. But I have no plans in the immediate future to announce any campaign. So we got a ways to go, and I want to see how thing play out.”

Amash has only been in the House for just over two years, but in his short time in Washington, he has gotten into several much publicized spats with the GOP establishment.

Earlier this year, he lost a coveted spot on the House Budget Committee for apparently not supporting chairman Paul Ryan’s 2013 budget. He later helped organize a failed coup to oust John Boehner as speaker of the House, publicly voting for Idaho Rep. Raúl Labrador instead.

He has also sparred with McCain, the Arizona Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee. He recently accused him of making “racist jokes” on Twitter about the Iranian president.

Reacting to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster of CIA Director John Brennan over drones, McCain last week accused Amash — along with other libertarian-leaning Republicans — of being one of the “wacko birds … that get the media megaphone.”

If he ran for the U.S. Senate, Amash could possibly tap into the network of politically active libertarian supporters who would welcome the idea of electing another senator like Rand Paul.

An ardent proponent for smaller government, Amash is just as enthusiastic about social media, often bragging that he explains every vote he takes on Facebook.

But for now, Amash — who would likely have to give up his House seat to mount a Senate campaign — is signaling that he will only run if he thinks he can really win.

“Michigan is a largely Democratic state, but it’s not like having an open seat in Oklahoma or Nebraska or some place like that,” he explained Wednesday night. “So you have to take it very seriously when you decide to run. It’s not just a primary you have to win. You have to win a general. And you got to win over a lot of people from the other side.”

Follow Alex on Twitter

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel