#NeverTrump GOP endorsements LATEST: Graham and Lee voted McMullin

[Mehmentum]

It amazes me that this is such a vexing issue.  A party that doesn't back its Presidential nominee never does well in November, with the exception of the McGovern 1972 debacle for the Democrats.  Even that was a different situation; you had a core of Southern and Border states whose Democratic Parties were estranged to varying degrees from the National Democratic Party. 

During the 1948 Democratic Nomination process, NC Governor R. Gregg Cherry announced his support for Truman's renomination, despite Truman's support for civil rights legislation.  "If Truman is not beaten at the convention, let's all get under the Democratic flag and help elect him.  Afterward, we can have our Representatives and Senators beat him down when he needs beating."  This seems to me to be more of a realistic strategy for Republicans than the silliness they're indulging in now.

Remind me, how did that strategy turn out for the Southern Democrats?

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

It amazes me that this is such a vexing issue.  A party that doesn't back its Presidential nominee never does well in November, with the exception of the McGovern 1972 debacle for the Democrats.  Even that was a different situation; you had a core of Southern and Border states whose Democratic Parties were estranged to varying degrees from the National Democratic Party. 

During the 1948 Democratic Nomination process, NC Governor R. Gregg Cherry announced his support for Truman's renomination, despite Truman's support for civil rights legislation.  "If Truman is not beaten at the convention, let's all get under the Democratic flag and help elect him.  Afterward, we can have our Representatives and Senators beat him down when he needs beating."  This seems to me to be more of a realistic strategy for Republicans than the silliness they're indulging in now.

Remind me, how did that strategy turn out for the Southern Democrats?

The civil rights act didn't pass until the 60s, and only due to the sympathy factor in the aftermath of the JFK assassination.

[Mr. Morden]

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado (“who serves in a non-partisan post but is a Republican”) says he won’t vote for Trump:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/tomas-regalado-no-support-trump-223109

[Mr. Morden]

It amazes me that this is such a vexing issue.  A party that doesn't back its Presidential nominee never does well in November, with the exception of the McGovern 1972 debacle for the Democrats.  Even that was a different situation; you had a core of Southern and Border states whose Democratic Parties were estranged to varying degrees from the National Democratic Party. 

Aside from the fact that some of these guys legit think Trump is unsuitable for office and think that trumps (pun?) the party’s interests, you also have folks like Romney who are looking to their legacy.  They think history will remember them better if they oppose Trump.

And then you have the fact that some of them think that it is in the party’s interest for there to be an “alternative brand” for the GOP.  In brief, the think is Trump is going to lose badly, and tarnish the party’s image for years (decades?) to come.  *However*, if you create a subset of the party operating under a different banner (Republicans against Trump), then those people might be able to swoop in after the election being relatively unscathed by Trump’s stink, thus improving the party position in 2018 and beyond.  From their perspective, they are operating in the party’s interest...its longer term interest.

They are the "nuclear bunker"--the insurance policy for the party that activates in case Trump implodes in a massive landslide and takes down everyone associated with him.

And then you also have people who want to run a 3rd party candidate because they think it’s necessary to prevent a dropoff in turnout from anti-Trump Republican voters.  Give those people an additional choice for president, and they’re more likely to show up to vote for Republicans in downballot races.

[Indy Texas]

Former US Sen. Gordon Humphrey (NH) says he won’t support Trump:

http://www.unionleader.com/Trump_Lewandowski_voted_NH_delegation_chair

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Humphrey is one of New Hampshire’s delegates to the RNC this year (pledged to John Kasich).

Gordon Humphrey was basically the Ted Cruz of the 1980s when he was in the Senate. Huge piece of work.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Tom Ridge says he won't vote for TRUMP.

http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2016/05/heres_why_i_wont_be_voting_for.html?hootPostID=ff4a15ac4c4b1ae0fa70c22f917b933e#incart_river_home

[Mr. Morden]

Famed “neocon” former Reagan State Department official / McCain foreign policy advisor Robert Kagan has just published a new #NeverTrump manifesto in WaPo titled “This is how fascism comes to America”:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html

[Mr. Morden]

Add in David Jolly. CLC will vote for TRUMP but isn't happy about it:

http://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/election/article75570552.html

I'm very late to respond to this, but should be noted that Jolly is saying that he's still undecided on whether to vote for Trump or not.  Not that he's ruling it out.

[Mr. Morden]

Even some of the delegates won’t be going to the convention.  Former NH Sen. Judd Gregg is a Bush delegate (now unbound because Bush dropped out), and he’s going to skip out of the convention:

http://www.wmur.com/politics/-delegate-gregg-tells-wmur-he-will-not-attend-republican-national-convention/39283422

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Rep. Duncan Hunter even endorsed Trump during the primaries, but probably won’t attend:

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-republican-convention-cleveland-who-going-20160516-snap-htmlstory.html

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Trump should really just pack the hall with paid actors, like he did for his campaign announcement speech.

[Mr. Morden]

A spokesman for George Pataki says the former NY governor won't back Trump "until he reverses his position on deporting millions of undocumented immigrants."

EDIT: Spokesman?  Do former governors who'll presumably never run for office again really need spokesmen?

[Mr. Morden]

Kasich says he won’t endorse Trump unless he undergoes “a transformation”:

link

You must be logged in to read this quote.

One question is: If Kasich never endorses Trump, what does that mean for Trump’s campaign in Ohio?  The WSJ, for example, just reported a couple of days ago on how Trump is lagging in organization in Ohio, because the Kasich loyalists don’t want to work for him:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-lags-behind-hillary-clinton-in-organizing-key-states-1463945208

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Mr. Morden]

OK, by popular demand, I’ve tried compiling all the “major” current or former Republican officeholders not voting for Trump.  I’m only including people who are either current or former members of Congress, governors, or federal Cabinet officials (I guess Zoellick wasn’t technically a Cabinet official, but close enough).  I’m not including Lt. Governors or other state cabinet officials, nor state legislators or mayors.  Also not counting people who have been or currently are nominees for major office but never made it, like Rob McKenna.  Adding those people in would make it way too difficult to track, especially since in most cases, state legislators’ presidential preferences aren’t going to be readily reported in the media.

I’m also not including staffers and political aides like Mark Salter, or media people like Kristol.  This is just politicians.  If I listed every conservative media personality or prominent political aide or former assistant Secretary of such-and-such, the list would grow by something like 200 names.

Some of this is also open to interpretation, because some folks are trying to split hairs to a ridiculous extent, like saying “I’ll support but not endorse”.  Most aren’t actually splitting hairs in quite such a ludicrous manner, but because some are, one has to scrutinize the wording everyone uses, and I’ve tried to be fair in categorizing people.  I’m assuming, for example, that if someone says they won’t support Trump, that means they won’t vote for him, unless they’re obviously trying to phrase it in a confusing manner.  That said, let me know if you disagree with someone being included on the list.

Not voting for Trump
Gov. Charlie Baker (MA)
former Gov. Jeb Bush (FL)
former Sec. of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff
former Sen. Norm Coleman (MN)
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL)
Rep. Bob Dold (IL)
former Sen. Slade Gorton (WA)
Sen. Lindsay Graham (SC)
Rep. Richard Hanna (NY)
Sen. Dean Heller (NV)
former Sen. Gordon Humphrey (NH)
former Rep. Bob Inglis (SC)
former Rep. Jim Kolbe (AZ)
former Sen. Mel Martinez (FL)
former Attorney General Michael Mukasey
former Rep. Ron Paul (TX)
Rep. Reid Ribble (WI)
former Gov. Tom Ridge (PA)
Rep. Scott Rigell (VA)
former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL)
Rep. Mark Sanford (SC)
Sen. Ben Sasse (NE)
former Rep. J.C. Watts (OK)
former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (NJ)
former US Trade Representative / World Bank President Robert Zoellick

I’m pretty sure he’s #NeverTrump, and everyone seems to include him on their list, but I can’t actually find the original quote where he says he won’t support him in the GE
Rep. Justin Amash (MI)

Say they won’t support Trump unless he transforms his candidacy pretty significantly, in a way that’s pretty unlikely to happen (e.g., some say that if he backs away from the Muslim ban, or mass deportation, or stops insulting people, then they might back him)
former Rep. Tom DeLay (TX)
Sen. Jeff Flake (AZ)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX)
Gov. John Kasich (OH)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL)
former Gov. George Pataki (NY)
former Rep. Joe Scarborough (FL)

As far as I can tell, they’ve indicated that they’re not going to publicly comment on who they support for the duration of the campaign
former Pres. George H.W. Bush
former Pres. George W. Bush
Gov. Larry Hogan (MD)
Gov. Rick Snyder (MI)

There are of course, many more people (e.g., Paul Ryan, Susana Martinez, Ted Cruz) who have not *yet* indicated how they’ll be voting in November, but unlike the Bushes, they’re open to expressing their presidential preference at some point during the campaign.  I’m not tracking everyone in that category, as it’s a very long list.  It would be great if some media organization went through every member of Congress and detailed which ones haven’t yet endorsed Trump, or fall in different categories like “endorse with conditions”, etc., but I haven’t seen anyone do that.

[Mr. Morden]

*bumping* this comment from ~2.5 months ago:

To be fair, there are always non-endorsers. Chafee refused to support Bush in 2004, Boren refused to support Obama in 2008.

Usually just a max of one or two major officeholders per election though.

That's true, but I wonder how many of "never Trump" crowd would eventually fall in line if he's nominated: "well yes, I had some doubts but the most important thing now is to unite and prevent Obama's third term".

I mean, here we are.  Trump is the de facto nominee, and so far, as far as I can tell, the number of Republican politicians who rule out supporting Trump in the general election is higher now than it was during the primaries.  While Trump has done well in consolidating GE support among Republican *voters* (though actually still a bit behind Clinton's support among Dems in most polls), there is nothing normal about the number of Republican "elites" who are refusing to back him.  It doesn't usually work like this.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Hint: it's because whiny little cucks need a safe space where no one will call them out, and they fear they are next in line for a stumping

[Sir Mohamed]

What's with Rauner (R-IL)?

[Mr. Morden]

What's with Rauner (R-IL)?

He's doing the same as Ayotte by saying that he supports the nominee but won't endorse (as if endorse and support are different things).  I didn't list people in that category, because it's such a mind-numbingly stupid position.

[standwrand]

btw Lindsey Graham isn't #nevertrump anymore. He's actually fundraising for Trump

[Mr. Morden]

btw Lindsey Graham isn't #nevertrump anymore. He's actually fundraising for Trump

No, not true:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=237250.msg5081873#msg5081873

[Gustaf]

Would it be possible to move this list to the first post of this or another thread so it's easier to update and follow it?

[Mr. Morden]

Would it be possible to move this list to the first post of this or another thread so it's easier to update and follow it?

Done.  I've hijacked the OP to include the list.

The first change I made was crossing out Louie Gohmert's name from the list of people who would "support with conditions".  In this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7FHVfF943Q&feature=youtu.be

he clarifies his earlier comments, saying that when he talked about "support" earlier, he just meant that he wouldn't defend or act as a surrogate for Trump unless Trump cleaned up his act.  But he says he's still planning to vote for Trump as the least bad option.  So I've taken him off the list, as I'm only counting people not intending to vote for Trump.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

What's with Rauner (R-IL)?

He's doing the same as Ayotte by saying that he supports the nominee but won't endorse (as if endorse and support are different things).  I didn't list people in that category, because it's such a mind-numbingly stupid position.

I think the "support the nominee" position means he doesn't like Trump or his positions but plans to stay loyal to his party and thinks supporting the nominee is what's required to display that loyalty.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think you can safely add to the NeverTrumpers list Miami's Republican mayor, Tomas Regalado.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/politics/donald-trump-general-election-battleground.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Mr. Regalado, a former broadcast journalist, intends to sit out the presidential race. He considers Mrs. Clinton untrustworthy, but views Mr. Trump as a poisonous candidate who has aggravated racial divisions. In Miami, Mr. Regalado said, Mr. Trump is seen as “a bully, as a person who despises people that don’t look like him.”

[Mr. Morden]

I think you can safely add to the NeverTrumpers list Miami's Republican mayor, Tomas Regalado.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/politics/donald-trump-general-election-battleground.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Mr. Regalado, a former broadcast journalist, intends to sit out the presidential race. He considers Mrs. Clinton untrustworthy, but views Mr. Trump as a poisonous candidate who has aggravated racial divisions. In Miami, Mr. Regalado said, Mr. Trump is seen as “a bully, as a person who despises people that don’t look like him.”

Yeah, San Diego's Republican mayor is also #NeverTrump, as I mentioned earlier in the thread.  But I wasn't including mayors in the list in the OP, because where do you draw the line as to what's a significant enough city to bother including?  I'm open to adding them though if someone wants propose a standard re: which mayors govern cities big enough that they're worth including in the list.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think you can safely add to the NeverTrumpers list Miami's Republican mayor, Tomas Regalado.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/politics/donald-trump-general-election-battleground.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Mr. Regalado, a former broadcast journalist, intends to sit out the presidential race. He considers Mrs. Clinton untrustworthy, but views Mr. Trump as a poisonous candidate who has aggravated racial divisions. In Miami, Mr. Regalado said, Mr. Trump is seen as “a bully, as a person who despises people that don’t look like him.”

Yeah, San Diego's Republican mayor is also #NeverTrump, as I mentioned earlier in the thread.  But I wasn't including mayors in the list in the OP, because where do you draw the line as to what's a significant enough city to bother including?  I'm open to adding them though if someone wants propose a standard re: which mayors govern cities big enough that they're worth including in the list.

The article also mentions that the mayor (I guess he is the equivalent of county executive) of Miami-Dade won't vote for Trump.

[Fuzzy Says: "Abolish NPR!"]

Add in David Jolly. CLC will vote for TRUMP but isn't happy about it:

http://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/election/article75570552.html

I'm very late to respond to this, but should be noted that Jolly is saying that he's still undecided on whether to vote for Trump or not.  Not that he's ruling it out.

Jolly's in an interesting position now.  He was in a free-for-all primary for an open Senate seat (Rubio's) where he had a decent shot at winning, but now there is a good chance that Rubio may re-enter the race.  Prominent Republicans are urging him to re-enter; the stumbling block is Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is a personal friend of Rubio, and whom Rubio does not wish to offend.

If Lopez-Cantera has to resign as Lt. Governor for running for the Senate, Jolly could be someone Gov. Rick Scott could pick to fill the void.  Scott, however, is unabashedly for Trump, as is FL AG Pam Bondi, so Jolly would be bucking Florida's GOP Establishment by going #NeverTrump.