(Newser) – It seems a handful of dissatisfied Republicans have decided to go the fight-fire-with-fire route when it comes to the 2016 presidential election, attempting to recruit Mark Cuban to run as an independent. The Washington Post reports a group of Republicans, including Mitt Romney, has been reaching out to prospective third-party candidates. The leading contenders are currently John Kasich and Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. But they also asked the Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank host. Cuban says they were interested in him because of his “bluster and volume, combined with substance and the ability to connect with voters on a more personal basis." “[Donald Trump] could come after me all he wanted, and he knows I would put him in his place,” Cuban says.

During a conference Thursday in Las Vegas, Cuban described his relationship with Trump as "love-hate," CNBC reports. "There's that guy who'll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid," he says. "That's Donald Trump right now to a T. But it's all of us who are going to get [expletive]." Cuban—perhaps jokingly—floated the idea of running as Hillary Clinton's vice president, as long as she let him "throw bombs" at Trump. Ultimately, Cuban turned down the offer of running as a third-party candidate, saying he doesn't believe there's enough time to mount a successful campaign. He's probably right. The deadline to get on the presidential ballot in Texas was Monday, according to the Dallas Morning News. Still, Cuban might have more experience than Trump. As the Morning News points out, he did play the president in Sharknado 3. (Read more Mark Cuban stories.)

