Protesters gather during Howard Schultz book tour stop in Seattle



SEATTLE -- Former Starbucks CEO and potential 2020 presidential candidate Howard Schultz was greeted by some protesters Thursday during a stop in Seattle for his book tour.

“I’m not opposed to him running for President. I’m opposed to him running as an Independent,” said Chris Petzold, Chairwoman of Indivisible Washington's 8th District,  which organized the protest.

Schultz held his book tour event at The Moore Theater and about two dozen protesters showed up to send Schultz a clear message.

“He might split the vote among progressives and that would hand Donald Trump another term in office. I just don’t think we need more billionaires running for President. They don’t represent us. We tried having a billionaire in the White House. It didn’t work,” said Jo Johnson with Indivisible Washington 8th District.

King County Executive Dow Constantine joined the protesters, saying the main goal should be to keep President Trump from getting re-elected.

"I know that Howard does not want Donald Trump to serve another four years. If he wants to run, let him run as a Democrat. Come join the progressives and yes Howard, the moderates, who’ve already announced for the Presidency in the Democratic Party. Have a debate about ideas!” Constantine said.

Still, not everyone who came out shared the same feelings about Schultz.

"People are ready for a third party. When you keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results, that’s insanity. The reason we have a lot of the problems we do today is because we’re completely polarized. We have the right and the left. We need to rise above that," said Michelle Darnell.

Ultimately, the protesters say they want Schultz to think about one thing: which side are you on?

The protesters say they want Schultz to know he has opposition to his third party run for president right here in Seattle. They hope he’ll either join the Democrats or drop out of the race for President.