A newly established political action committee (PAC) is launching an effort to encourage former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to run for president. According to The Hill, The PAC, known as the Draft Tucker PAC, recently filed official documentation with the Federal Election Commission following Carlson’s departure from Fox News.
In an advertisement unveiled last week, the PAC commends Carlson for criticizing “woke nonsense” and aims to push the Republican presidential field towards a more conservative stance. The ad will air on Newsmax for one week.
It states, “The Republican Party needs a fresh leader, and Tucker Carlson is prepared to assume that role. Among all individuals in the country, nobody articulates their views more effectively or confronts left-leaning individuals from both major parties as skillfully as Tucker.”
The advertisement compares Tucker Carlson and the late radio personality Rush Limbaugh. It praises Carlson’s cleverness, keenness, and inclination to ridicule “woke nonsense.” The ad further asserts that Carlson would outperform President Biden in a debate.
Chairing the PAC is Chris Ekstrom, who previously ran for a congressional seat in Texas as a Republican candidate and is also a financial supporter of the PAC. Ekstrom mentioned that he has a peripheral acquaintance with Carlson and was approached about forming the PAC before Carlson departed from Fox News.
However, at the time, Ekstrom deemed it impractical due to Carlson’s role as a primetime host. Now that this concern no longer exists, Ekstrom believes that a Carlson presidential campaign is a “realistic opportunity.” He expressed his dissatisfaction with former President Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, stating that neither fully meets his expectations.
“I’m very concerned that they’re going to not move the debate as far right as it ought to be,” Ekstrom said. “If Tucker Carlson entered the race in a reasonable amount of time and just continued in the same territory that he was covering at Fox, I think that’d be a rude awakening for President Trump and Governor DeSantis.”
Charlie Kolean, a political consultant affiliated with the GOP, serves as the executive director of the PAC. Kolean believes that voters’ enthusiasm for Carlson could ripple effect on the rest of the primary field. “I believe it will shift the overall conversation towards the right, prompting candidates to adopt more firm positions instead of aligning with moderate Republicanism,” Kolean stated in an interview with The Hill.
Despite Carlson consistently dismissing the notion of running for the presidency, stating in 2021 that he would only do so if he were “the last person on earth,” and even joking about it recently, his supporters persist in urging him to enter the race. Following Carlson’s departure from Fox News, Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate, and businessman, expressed his belief that Carlson would be a valuable addition to the presidential race.
The PAC’s endeavor faced intense criticism from a reliable source connected to Tucker Carlson. The source vehemently stated, “Tucker has consistently and explicitly stated that he is not running for president. Whoever is behind this group is attempting to profit quickly and should feel ashamed, and no one should contribute to this PAC.”
However, Ekstrom, undeterred by skepticism, sought to refute doubts surrounding the initiative.
