Jesse Ventura, who served as Minnesota governor as a member of the Reform Party, said Monday that he is “testing the waters” for a potential 2020 run for president on the Green Party ticket.
In a pair of tweets, the former wrestling star, who has repeatedly floated a White House bid, said he endorses the Green Party’s platform and had authorized a letter to the party signaling his interest in running for its presidential nomination.
“OK, I’ve decided I’m going to test the waters. IF I were going to run for president, the GREEN party would be my first choice. I’ve endorsed the party and I’m testing the waters,” Ventura tweeted.
If he entered the race, Ventura would be one of several declared candidates for the Green Party’s nomination. The hopeful currently leading the pack is Howie Hawkins, a New York trade unionist and activist who co-founded the Green Party and is already endorsed by the Socialist Party, another third party.
Ventura said in an interview with TMZ in 2018 that he was considering a run as an independent and echoed those ambitions in an interview with a Los Angeles news station last year. Ventura claimed at the time that he would easily defeat President Trump in a head-to-head match-up.
“If I do do it, Trump will not have a chance,” Ventura said in 2018.
“For one, Trump knows wrestling. He participated in two Wrestlemanias. He knows he can never out-talk a wrestler, and he knows I’m the greatest talker wrestling’s ever had,” he said.