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“Of all the years I’ve been in office, I’m the hap-
piest now,” he says of his new independence. “It’s
very freeing to not feel bound to a particular party.”
the 2020 BAttle is on in Amash’s district in west-
ern Michigan, where both Democrats and Repub-
licans are already deep into primary season. While
state political operatives say a front runner has yet to
emerge, there are at least five Republican candidates
seeking the nomination to challenge Amash. The
list includes Peter Meijer, a veteran whose wealthy
family owns a Michigan-based grocery chain, and
Jim Lower, a state legislator who jumped into the
race after Amash expressed openness to impeach-
ing Trump earlier this year. Michael Meyers, a state
GOP operative working with Republican candidate
Lynn Afendoulis, says Amash has his work cut out
for him in his re-election bid. “I think this boils down
to a Congressman that has always thought that he
was right and that everyone else was wrong,” he says.
“And that has cost him most of his friendships and
most of his relationships in the community.”
Then there’s the other question that hangs over
Amash’s political future: whether he will run for
President in 2020 as a conservative alternative to
Trump. “If I feel like I can go on the national stage
and help advance the kind of things I’m talking
about, then that’s something I’ll definitely con-
sider,” he told me. “I’m not going to rule that kind
of thing out.”
Amash says people from both sides of the aisle
have told him they hope he succeeds, if only to show
that breaking free of the two-party structure can
work. By leaving the Republicans, Amash says, he
has expanded his ability to speak to a broader group
of voters, many of whom might not listen if he were
the GOP’s man.
I ask what he sees as his new role in Washington,
and he doesn’t miss a beat. “Setting an example for
people,” he says. “Talking about how things should
work in Washington. Talking about how things
should work at home.” He said his fellow politi-
cians would benefit from thinking independently
rather than taking blind cues from leadership. His
job, he said, is to “go spread that message, and use
all of my influence and skills to do that.”
‘Of all the
years
I’ve been
in office,
I’m the
happiest
n ow.’
JUSTIN AMASH,
on leaving the
Republican Party
to become an
independent
EVAN COBB—THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES
