A few hours after Rep. Justin Amash, I-Mich., announced he was leaving the Republican Party on July 4, talk began about his becoming the Libertarian Party nominee for president in 2020.

"I sure hope he runs for president, and a lot of people [among Michigan Libertarians] are hoping that now," Tom Yeuter, a veteran Libertarian Party activist in Holt, Michigan, told Newsmax.

Yeuter also told us there was a group among his fellow Libertarian activists who would advocate a national ticket of Amash for president and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, for vice president.

As one of the 20-plus Democratic presidential candidates, Gabbard has campaigned on several libertarian themes — notably, non-interventionism in foreign entanglements.

Her candidacy has the endorsement of 1988 Libertarian presidential nominee and former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.

"A number of people are promoting her on a ticket with Rep. Amash," Yeuter said.

Michigan Libertarians have had a ballot line for years, and in 2016, their presidential nominee Gary Johnson ran ahead of his national total (3% of the vote) in the Water Wonderland.

Retired after a long career with the U.S. Army, Yeuter switched from Republican to Libertarian and has worked for Libertarian candidates and causes since Ron Paul carried the party's presidential nominee in 1988.

In 2002, Yeuter was the Libertarian nominee for Congress in Michigan's 8th District (Lansing) held by Republican and then-Rep. Mike Rogers.

Five-termer Amash is the lone Republican to consider impeachment charges against President Donald Trump. Before he broke with Trump, the Michigander was a frequent antagonist to many conservatives because of his libertarian voting record: against the border wall, against a ban on gender selective abortions, and other key votes.

In a nationally discussed online op-ed in The Washington Post on July 4, Amash announced he was leaving the GOP because "I've become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it."

President Trump promptly tweeted Amash's exodus is "great news."

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.