Bill Weld, who served as governor of Massachusetts back in the 1990s, is seeking the Republican Party’s presidential nomination this year.

Given how sleepy has been the GOP’s nominating contest, this may well come as actual news for many folks. It shouldn’t, though, especially for those who are unhappy with President Donald Trump’s choke hold on the once-Grand Old Party.

Weld was a good, exceedingly popular governor, first elected in 1990, and reelected in 1994. He was a liberal Republican, back in a distant era when such creatures actually roamed the earth.

Now, even though he’s the longest of long shots to make a serious dent in Trump’s march toward renomination, Weld is hoping that lightning could strike in at least one of the states that holds primaries on Super Tuesday, March 3. Specifically, he’s looking to Massachusetts, Vermont and Utah.

If he can fare well, perhaps even exceedingly well, in one or more of those states, Weld’s showing could make folks think twice about Trump’s strengths. And then we’d perhaps be looking at something of a new ballgame.

Bay State Republicans are not like most Republicans. Though the nation thinks of Massachusetts as a deep, dyed-in-the-wool blue state, it elected and then reelected Weld back in the 1990s. And we’ve elected, and reelected, GOP Gov. Charlie Baker in 2014 and in 2018.

Perhaps it’s best to think of Massachusetts as a generally liberal state, with voters possessing a genuinely pragmatic streak.

As such, registered Republicans, and unenrolled voters choosing a Republican ballot in Tuesday’s primary, would do well to consider casting their votes for Weld, the former governor who maintains his maverick persona. Weld is what folks used to call a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. These days, that’s fairly radical. Though it shouldn’t be.

Suppose, just to allow what’s likely still a bit of a fantasy, that Weld emerges from Tuesday’s GOP primary with a significant share of the vote. Or, to be even more far-fetched, imagine that he comes away with a win.

Either would generate headlines across the land. “Weld in Bay State Shocker.” “Trump Teeters in Massachusetts.” “A President on the Ropes?”

It’s perhaps only a fantasy for the anti-Trump set, but it’s one worth having.

And it could come to pass only if voters imagine the unimaginable and cast their ballots for Weld.