Jim Webb Considering Independent Run for Presidency, Campaign Says
Jim Webb is considering running as an independent in 2016.
October, 19, 2015 — -- Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a Democratic candidate for president in the 2016 race, is considering an independent run, his campaign announced today.
Webb is set to discuss "his candidacy, the campaign, and his views of the political parties in the current election cycle" tomorrow in Washington DC, according to his campaign's announcement.
Webb, previously a Republican, switched to join the Democratic party in 2006, right before he ran for one of Virginia’s Senate seats.
Webb announced that he would run as a candidate for the Democratic nomination on July 2, 2015. However, he has not opened any headquarters in the crucial primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Financially, Webb falls way behind Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in fundraising. FEC filings show he raised $679,000 last quarter. Clinton and Sanders raised $29.4 and $26.2 million respectively.
In last week's "Saturday Night Live" skit, actor Alec Baldwin, who impersonated Webb, highlighted the way his policy differences deviated from those in the Democratic party, sputtering when the moderator (Jon Rudnitsky impersonating Anderson Cooper) asked him about his one-time "A" rating from the NRA.
Webb had previously said at the debate last week, "we have to respect the tradition in this country of people who want to defend themselves and their family from violence."
