So he wants to be runner up in a Presidential election too

He was. A classical liberal, which is the proper term for people referred to as conservatives today. Classical Liberal ideology has been penned by Adam Smith, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson - the supporters of free markets, small government, abolitionism, and a constitutional form of government.

Those that are called liberal today are actually statists and socialists and have nothing in common with classical liberalism because they actually oppose the basic tenets of liberalism like economic freedom, freedom of speech, etc.