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Who Are Bill Weld's Kids? The Libertarian Running Mate Has A Large Family

by Kenza Moller

There's been a huge focus on the Democratic and Republican parties' presidential picks this election season, but New York Times data recently showed that only 9 percent of Americans voted for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the primaries. There were approximately 161 million eligible voters who didn't vote for either, and some of those voters may now be looking at a third option for the general election: namely, the Libertarian party's nominee Gary Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld. Those who have researched Johnson may still be wondering about Weld's political and personal life. Who are Weld's kids? Is he married or religious? And how is he feeling about this election in general?

According to Johnson and Weld's campaign website, Weld is married to his second wife, author Leslie Marshall, and the couple live in Massachusetts. Weld originally had five children with his first wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld, whom he divorced in 2002. If your ears perked up at the mention of a Roosevelt, you're on the right track — Weld's children are descendants of the United States' 26th president.

Weld's children are now middle-aged and, by most accounts, quite successful. David, Weld's eldest son, is an assistant professor at the University of California Santa Barbara and runs his own lab. Ethel Weld is an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, according to LinkedIn. Mary, the middle child, is a New York state-registered attorney at Harvard Law School, and Quentin Weld went on to become an assistant district attorney in Massachusetts. Weld's youngest, Frances (Fran), is now a director of real estate for the San Francisco Giants.

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Weld is also the stepfather to Marshall's three children from her previous marriage. Neither Weld's children or his stepchildren have said much — at least in public — about Weld and Johnson's campaign, but according to New York Magazine, Marshall is CC'd on campaign emails and accompanies him on the campaign trail.

Johnson and Weld will have quite a bit of work to do if they want to make headway before the general election in November, but this could be a good year for Libertarians. "This is an unusual year and an unusual opportunity," he told New York Magazine in May. (Read: Libertarians could make a good alternative to dispirited members of the GOP as the Trump campaign continues to make waves.) Weld added, "I’m not saying that Mr. Trump is either a Nazi or a fascist, but I’m just saying, 'Watch out.'"

If the Libertarian campaign picks up, there could be more public involvement from Weld's large — and influential — family. But until then, he and Johnson remain an interesting duo to keep an eye on as the United States rolls towards November.