Updated at 9:40 a.m.

Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld told WGBH News Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu Monday that Trump has committed impeachable offenses "way worse than Nixon" and should be removed from office.

"I'm a longtime federal prosecutor. ... I've never seen such evidence in an obstruction case," Weld said. "Extorting a foreign leader to come interfere in a U.S. election for the advantage of the person doing the extorting, that's as bad as it gets in terms of what the framers were afraid of, and what they thought should be grounds for removal."

Weld added that he thinks members of the House of Representatives have a duty to vote to impeach Trump — regardless of which side of the aisle they are on.

Early in his career, Weld served as counsel in the impeachment inquiry into President Richard Nixon and worked on a report, "Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment," released after the Watergate scandal in 1974.

Weld is one of only two official primary challengers to President Trump in the 2020 election. He announced his candidacy for president in April, and in an Apr. 16 interview with WGBH News, he said he is challenging Trump on the right because he wants to be the candidate for Republicans whose voices Trump does not represent.

"I want the Republican Party to be the party of Abraham Lincoln, not the know-nothing party that says climate change is a hoax and we're not going to worry about this and all we're going to do is be very angry all the time," Weld said at the time. "I think that's the wrong way for the inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania [Ave.] to act."

Weld's candidacy is a long-shot, as Trump's approval rating among Republicans was at 90 percent as of Nov. 1, according to Gallup polling, and Trump's fundraising has far outstripped that of his Republican challengers.

Weld said he's not worried about money, though, and he is hopeful that he will beat Trump in New Hampshire, where he has been spending much of his time campaigning.

"I think we may be in for a surprise in New Hampshire," he said, adding that he is gaining momentum in the state and that many of the people he has spoken to want Trump out of office. "I just have a good feeling on the ground there."

In 2016, Weld ran for vice president under Gary Johnson on the Libertarian ticket. He served as governor of the commonwealth for two terms, from 1991 to 1997.