Bob Barr, a former Republican who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced today that he is beginning a campaign for the presidency as a Libertarian Party candidate.

His campaign Web site highlights four key issues he will pursue. They include scaling back government spending, taking aggressive action to secure U.S. borders against illegal immigration, promoting individual liberty (such as by protecting against unlawful searches and seizures), and reinventing the nation’s defense policy by making a new commitment to nonintervention.

Mr. Barr, who represented Georgia in the U.S. House, must win the Libertarian nomination at the party’s national convention that begins May 22, but party officials consider him a front-runner, the Associated Press reports.

His candidacy is seen as one that could take votes away from Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, whom Mr. Barr has criticized for not being a true conservative.