Ed Stack, the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, is testing the possibility of a third-party presidential bid, Politico is reporting.
A focus group met this week in Wisconsin and was presented with various scenarios including possible Stack match-ups with President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., according to Politico. Stack is a longtime Republican donor.
The website attributed its information to a source who participated in the testing. The focus group was also presented with various themes centering on Stack’s “showing leadership” by stopping the sale of assault-style rifles at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores.
The focus group, consisting of about two dozen people, was asked if it would be open to voting for a third-party candidate, Politico reported.
“(Some focus group members) mentioned that if Biden’s getting the criticism that he looked old, Ed Stack didn’t look young either,” the participant said,
The focus group member noted that some also felt Stack “didn’t have the charisma it would take to attract a coalition that you’d need to have a chance as a third-party candidate.”
One unnamed source familiar with Stack’s thinking told Politico the CEO has “no plans to run for any elected office.”
But Joe Hunter, who served as an adviser to Gary Johnson’s Libertarian Party presidential bids in 2012 and 2016, said he has heard Stack’s “name come up” in talks about a possible run for president.
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