(JTA) — Evan McMullin, a former undercover operations officer for the CIA who once studied in Israel, said he will run as an independent in the U.S. presidential election in November.
McMullin, 40, who also was a senior national security and policy adviser in the House of Representatives, announced his candidacy on Monday.
He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church.
McMullin studied in Israel while an undergraduate at Brigham Young University as a David L. Boren Scholar with the Department of Defense’s National Security Education Program, through The David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies. He called his studies in Israel “a perfect capstone to the traditional coursework I had done in Provo.”
McMullin’s campaign will have the support of key players in the Republican Party’s anti-Trump movement, BuzzFeed News reported.
“Like millions of Americans, I had hoped this year would bring us better nominees who, despite party differences, could offer compelling visions of a better future. Instead, we have been left with two candidates who are fundamentally unfit for the profound responsibilities they seek,” McMullin said in a letter announcing his candidacy.
In 2011 he earned an MBA at the Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at Goldman Sachs.
