Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz decides not to run for president
Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO who considered running for the presidency as an independent candidate, has decided against a bid, he announced on his website Friday.
"I have concluded that an independent campaign for the White House is not how I can best serve our country at this time," he wrote.
Schultz said he still believes that if Democrats select a "far-left" candidate, it could mean that more people will vote to re-elect President Trump, "unless a moderate independent is also on the ballot."
However, the former Starbucks CEO said that election rules in some states would mean that the identity of the Democratic nominee might not be known before the deadlines in some states to submit signatures for an independent bid. That means, he said, "If I went forward, there is a risk that my name would appear on ballots even if a moderate Democrat wins the nomination, and that is not a risk I am willing to take."
Schultz also cited that three surgeries to address a back injury he sustained in April have made it too difficult for him to travel for a presidential campaign.
He said that he'll spend this election cycle "supporting bold and creative initiatives to transform our broken system and address the disparity of opportunity that plagues our nation." And he plans to use the money he would have spent on a presidential campaign to invest in people and groups promoting "honesty, civility and results in our politics, and that move the country beyond two-party gridlock." He singled out increasing national service opportunities for young people as one area he'll target.
Schultz admitted he was considering a bid for the White House in late January when he told "60 Minutes" he would be exploring a potential independent campaign.
"I am not ... in bed with a party," he told CBS News' Scott Pelley in an interview, adding that if he ran, he would do so as a "centrist independent."
In the months since, he traveled to over a dozen states meeting with various groups and repeatedly admonishing Democrats for veering too far to the political left and Republicans for continuing to embrace President Trump.
Ed O'Keefe contributed to this report.