New super PAC will back McMullin’s bid

Strategists look to give third-party candidate a boost

Evan McMullin, the conservative Republican and former CIA officer making a late independent bid for the White House, is poised to get a boost from a new super PAC being formed by two GOP strategists with experience in third-party ballot access.

Laying groundwork

Kahlil Byrd, who served as chief executive of Americans Elect, a now-shuttered organization that sought to create a pathway for an independent presidential candidate in 2012, and Chris Ashby, a GOP campaign finance attorney who worked on that effort, are together launching a new super PAC called Stand Up America to support McMullin.

“We want to be the conduit for people to be able to stand up and not just support his candidacy, but the efforts of an independent to satisfy the American people’s need for something more than they have seen,” Byrd told The Washington Post. “We are down to the two major party candidates, yet people are still looking for someone else.”

Until recently, Byrd had been serving as an adviser to Better for America, a nonprofit group that was laying the groundwork for a third-party candidate to gain ballot access this year. When he heard that McMullin was planning to run, Byrd resigned from the organization over the weekend so he and Ashby could launch the super PAC, he said. They did not discuss their plans with McMullin, Byrd added.

McMullin’s late start puts him at a severe disadvantage, as he is entering the race long after ballot access has closed in many states. But both Byrd and Ashby said there was sufficient time for the first-time candidate to gain sufficient ballot access to put him in reach of 270 electoral votes, both through states still accepting signatures and others where his campaign could sue to gain access.

Ashby said the super PAC will not be involved in ballot access efforts, but will instead focus on voter outreach using “all the tools at our disposal,” including TV and digital ads, live events and grass-roots organizing.

“Our strategy will be focused on connecting and engaging the many millions of Americans who are hungry for another choice and an independent choice for president,” Ashby said, adding: “Anything is possible this year, and we think this is possible. We are going to run an aggressive, independent campaign.”

McMullin’s run is considered to be an uphill battle because many state filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates to appear on state ballots have already passed. The number of states that have put such deadlines in the rearview mirror now amount to a majority of electoral college votes.

McMullin is a former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and was a senior adviser on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, according to LinkedIn.

A spokesman for the conference said McMullin is no longer an employee there.

‘Indispensible asset’

The former CIA agent worked on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations during his 11 years with the agency, according his online profile.

He has taken to Facebook in recent days to highlight his own experience while criticizing Trump.

“As Donald Trump continues attacking Muslims and as a former CIA officer, I’d like all American know the truth: American and other Muslims have played a central role in virtually every counterterrorism win we’ve had since 9/11,” McMullin wrote. “They are an indispensable asset in this fight. Attacking them as a group makes America weaker, not stronger.