fbpx

These are your elected Republican politicians who still back Trump

Republicans across the country have been ditching Donald Trump in droves since a 2005 video of him making disparaging, crude comments about women surfaced.

So what about our politicians? We’ve got the rundown on who key national, state, and county-level Republicans are casting a vote for.

Sidenote: Our county-level positions are nonpartisan, meaning they run as individuals, not as part of a party. 

Sen. Marco Rubio — Voting for Trump

Rubio is clearly no Trump lover, but he says Clinton is the greater of the two evils.

“I ran against Donald Trump. And while I respect that voters chose him as the GOP nominee, I have never hesitated to oppose his policies I disagree with,” Rubio said in a statement. “And I have consistently rejected his offensive rhetoric and behavior. I disagree with him on many things, but I disagree with his opponent on virtually everything. I wish we had better choices for President. But I do not want Hillary Clinton to be our next President. And therefore my position has not changed.” — Tampa Bay Times

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart — Voting for Trump

“My intention is to vote for the Republican nominee,” he said. “Obviously, there are some basic Republican principles the nominee must adhere to: set forth an economic agenda that will revitalize our economy and provide robust resources for our military, provide unwavering support to America’s best allies, such as Israel, Great Britain, Taiwan and Poland, to name a few, confront our enemies and adversaries in places like Cuba, North Korea, and Iran, and support the opposition movements and heroic leaders within those countries.

“These are things that have to be addressed,” Diaz-Balart concluded, “but one thing is certain: I will never support or vote for Hillary Clinton.” — Miami Herald

Rep. Carlos Curbelo — Undeclared

He said back in March that he won’t vote for Trump, but hasn’t said he will vote for any other candidate.

“I think both Donald Trump and Mrs. Clinton are flawed candidates, if you look at the polls the majority of Americans have negative views on both of them,” said Curbelo, who was first elected to the House in 2014. “So I am going to wait and see what happens on our side, but I have already said I will not support Mr. Trump, that is not a political decision that is a moral decision.” — CBS

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen — Jeb Bush

Ros-Lentinen never backed Trump and has said she wouldn’t vote for him. In August she said she will write in former GOP candidate Jeb Bush. According to her campaign, she stands by that today.

“As a woman, mother & grandmother, I categorically find that there are no excuses for Trump’s degrading and obscene characterization of women.”

She later added: “In April, before Trump even clinched the nomination, I announced I could not and would not support Donald Trump in this election. I’m now calling on Donald Trump to drop out of the race for the good of our nation.” — Miami Herald

Editor’s note: This section has been updated to include Ros-Lehtinen’s write-in plans.

Gov. Rick Scott — Voting for Trump

Scott endorsed Trump on the heels of Trump’s win in the Florida primary in March and has been a vocal supporter since then. He’s also the national chairman of a pro-Trump Super PAC.

“It’s time for us to fire the politicians. That’s what this election is all about, and that’s why I am excited to chair the Rebuilding America Now Super PAC to help Donald Trump.” — Politico

Mayor Carlos Gimenez — Voting for Clinton

Gimenez announced he would vote for Clinton earlier this month in a debate against opponent Raquel Regalado. He elaborated in an interview with us:

“I vote for the person, not the party. Over a year ago, when Mr. Trump decided to run, he made some disparaging statements against Hispanics which I thought were inappropriate. … That led me to start to get away from him…. The straw that broke the camel’s back, [the reason] I’m going to vote for Hillary Clinton is what he said about women and that whole episode last weekend [referring to the recording from 2005 with Billy Bush]. That was unconscionable. Someone that says that about women… somebody like that just isn’t qualified and also did not represent us as the president of the United States.”

Raquel Regalado, candidate for mayor — Undeclared

Regalado told us that she won’t say publicly who she is voting for because the mayorship is a nonpartisan position in Miami-Dade County and she does not want to risk alienating leadership in Tallahassee and Washington that she may have to lobby for state and federal funding if she wins.