He resigned as governor in 1997 to focus on his nomination by President Bill Clinton for United States Ambassador to Mexico, but because of opposition by the social conservatives such as Senator Jesse Helms, he was denied a hearing and withdrew his nomination.
2016 vice presidential campaign
In May 2016, former New MexicoGovernor and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson named Weld as his running mate and he became the vice presidential nominee for the 2016 election.[1] They were later both formally nominated at the Libertarian National Convention.
In January 2019, Weld expressed interest in running for President of the United States as a Republican, challenging President Donald Trump in the primaries, in the 2020 election.[2][3] In February 2019, Weld rejoined the Republican Party.[4] He launched an exploratory committee for a possible 2020 bid.[5]
On April 15, 2019 Weld officially announced he would be running for President, challenging incumbent Donald Trump.[6]