Joe Walsh sees an opportunity

Talking to the Republican challenger about why he's running — and why he'd prefer an Elizabeth Warren presidency to Trump

Joe Walsh.
(Image credit: Illustrated | joewalsh.org/Handout via REUTERS, rubinat/iStock)

If you've spent most of your summer away from cable news and the pages of our national newspapers, you might not realize that Donald Trump is not the only Republican running for president. Bill Weld, the moderate former governor of Massachusetts who served as the number-two man on the 2016 Libertarian presidential ticket, announced his candidacy back in February. On Monday, Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina congressman and governor of "Appalachian trail" fame, officially threw his hat into the ring.

Then there is Joe Walsh, the former House Republican and talk radio host who officially began his bid for the Republican presidential nomination at the end of August. If the first thing you think of when you hear that name is the guy who did "Rocky Mountain Way," you're not alone. (As it happens, the Eagles guitar legend also ran for president once, in 1980, when he was only 33; he also sought the vice presidency in 1992 as the running mate of the late Rev. Goat Carson. Nor is this the only thing the two have in common apart from their names: Like the narrator of the rock luminary's 1978 hit "Life's Been Good," the one-term Illinois Republican congressman also lost his driver's license at one point.)

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.