US white nationalist leader "seriously considers" running for Montana congressional seat

Richard Spencer, a white nationalist leader from the U.S. city of Dallas, announced Tuesday that he is "seriously considering" running for a Montana congressional seat.

Ryan Zinke, Montana's only congressman, was nominated for secretary of the interior by President-elect Donald Trump. If approved, Zinke's congressional seat would vacated. Spencer, a 38-year-old Dallas native, stated that "he would run as an independent, allowing him a shot at the seat," Dallas News reported. He said he would make a decision by early next year.

Richard Spencer, whose National Policy Institute has been described as "a hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League, is also the founder of the "alt-right" movement, which is "a loose grouping of neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and misogynists, united in opposition to the perceived disenfranchisement of white men," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Spencer has called Trump an "alt-right hero" and the "first step toward politics that promote pro-white policies."

But Trump has previously "disavowed" the so-called "alt-right," according to Dallas News.

So far, several Montana Republican legislators have shown interests in the seat, yet no Democrats have stepped forward.

source: Xinhua