The party elite may be primarily interested in winning an election, but at least one Republican remains committed to the “Never Trump” cause. Her name is Katrina Elaine Jorgensen, and on Monday she announced she’s resigning from her position as Communications Chair with the Young Republicans National Federation, an national organization that works with registered Republicans between the ages of 18 and 40 and provides grassroots support for GOP candidates and conservative causes.
"With the practically fulfilled nomination of Donald Trump as our presidential candidate, I can no longer continue to carry out the duties of this position. My principles will not allow it," Jorgensen wrote on Facebook. "There is no easy answer to the situation our party is in, but I believe we would do much more for our country by standing together against Donald Trump."
"We have been told for years how we are the future of the party, this is our opportunity to seize that future," she added. "But if we have instead decided to uphold a man who does not represent us or our views -- a man that has belittled war heroes, explicitly stated misogynist beliefs, relied on intimidation of minorities, insulted our international allies, rewarded violence, championed divisive rhetoric and proved completely uneducated in conservative fiscal policy -- I cannot participate in that."
Alluding to Republicans like McConnell and Graham, Jorgensen added, "Many of you may choose to support Trump in order to beat Hillary Clinton, that is your decision. For me, I cannot support a candidate who endorses bigotry and lawlessness, with a minimal understanding of the fiscal policies long associated with our party, even if he does have an 'R' after his name."
Polling suggests young voters like Jorgensen pose a big problem for Trump. A Harvard University Institute of Politics survey released last month found that 61 percent of likely voters between 18 and 29 say they would vote for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, compared to just 25 percent for Trump. Trump polls eight points below a "generic Republican" among that demographic, which suggests the spread between him and Clinton is about more than just the relative unpopularity of the Republican brand.
Establishment Republicans are proving much easier for Trump to win over, however. For instance, at a fundraiser in Florida on Saturday, Sen. Graham urged Republicans to unite behind presumptive nominee Trump. Those comments come less than six months after Graham described Trump as "a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot" who "conned" the Republican Party. As recently as March, Graham said the prospect of Trump carrying the GOP banner this November "taints conservatism for generations to come" and supported his expulsion from the party.
House Speaker Ryan is following a similar trajectory. Months after denouncing Trump's reluctant disavowal of former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke's endorsement and Trump's suggestion there could be riots at the GOP convention this summer if he's denied the Republican presidential nomination, Ryan seems to be moving toward supporting Trump during the general election.
After the two met in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, Ryan released a statement saying he and Trump "remain confident there's a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal."
Original Article
Source: thinkprogress.org/
Author: Aaron Rupar
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