Oct 21, 2018 2 min read

I proudly registered in the Republican Party 42 years ago and have voted for my party’s candidates since then. That changed in 2016 with the ascension of Donald Trump and his hijacking of Republican standards and ideals.

This man and any elected official or candidate running for office endorsed by Trump must be stopped from destroying American democracy as we know it. He and those who blindly follow him have created such a poisonous, destructive state that I fear for our democracy’s survival. The lies, the denials of basic facts and scientific truths, the racist and sexist behaviors and those ridiculous “tweets” need to end,and we need to start the process now.

To my Republican colleagues: Do not vote for any candidate endorsed by Trump or who follows the Trump doctrine on Nov. 6. If that means we lose our majority in Congress, then so be it. We must take drastic measures to save our party and bring civility, common sense and decency back to the political landscape and remove the cancer that is destroying our beliefs and party.

I am very proud of my American heritage, and I look forward to a time when America is truly great again. That time will come when Trump and his followers are out of office.

Vote for our country, not party.

David B. Hughes

Clarkston, Mich.