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Republican local officials and their declared positions on Donald Trump, 2016
From Ballotpedia
Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 drew different reactions from Republican officials across the United States, including those in the U.S. Congress and governor's mansions as well as in state legislatures. This variety of responses also extended to the local level. Republican mayors from every region of the nation staked differing positions on Trump's candidacy.
Multiple GOP mayors, including the mayor of West Virginia's largest city, left the Republican Party permanently in protest of Trump's rhetoric and policy proposals. Elsewhere, in Audubon Park, New Jersey, the Democratic mayor shifted his allegiance to the Republicans due to his support for Trump.
Big city Republican mayors who stuck to the party were split on Trump. The mayors of Fort Worth and Omaha, for example, expressed their support for him in the general election against the Democratic nominee. Others, including Kevin Faulconer in San Diego and Tomás Regalado in Miami, criticized Trump and refused to endorse him.
The statements of those mayors who supported and opposed Trump appear in the tabs below.
Joined GOP
| Mayors who joined the GOP due to Trump | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | City | Population | Statement |
| Larry Pennock | Audubon Park, New Jersey | 1,023[1] | In a statement announcing his shift from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, Pennock said, "As a father, it is imperative you always try to do what is right and that includes standing up for your beliefs. [...] The Republican Party best reflects my personal views on the issues of the day, so it was important I stand up for my beliefs and change parties." Pennock became the first Republican mayor in Audubon Park's history as a result of this change. A member of the Audubon Park City Council, John Carpinelli, also decided to change his party affiliation in response to Donald Trump's candidacy.[2] |
Supported Trump
| Mayors who supported Trump as the Republican nominee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | City | Population | Statement |
| Betsy Price | Fort Worth, Texas | 792,727 | Price said that although she first supported Jeb Bush, and then Marco Rubio, she still planned to vote for Trump.[3] |
| Jean Stothert | Omaha, Nebraska | 434,353 | In May 2016, Stothert issued a statement that said that although she preferred other candidates in the primary, she would vote for Trump in the general election. "He and I have very different approaches to governing and dealing with others," she said of Trump.[4] |
| Dewey Bartlett Jr. | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 398,121 | In May 2016, Bartlett said, "I support the Republican philosophies, and I think it’s a process that they have gone through fairly and he appears to be the, probably will be the, nominee for the Republican Party. And I support him, absolutely I can support him."[5] Bartlett lost his mayoral re-election bid on June 28, 2016. |
| Gabe Campana | Williamsport, Pennsylvania | 29,201[6] | On March 1, 2016, Campana posted the following statement to Twitter: "Yesterday, I was called by staff from the Trump Campaign asking me to endorse him for U.S. President. My response is yes."[7] |
| Mary Hawkins Butler | Madison, Mississippi | 25,799[8] | Butler was a member of Trump's Mississippi Campaign Committee. In March 2016, the group announced plans to assist Trump's campaign in Mississippi.[9] |
| Roger Claar | Bolingbrook, Illinois | 73,366 | Claar hosted a fundraiser that raised $1.5 million for Trump's campaign. Following the release of a video from 2005 in which Trump makes lewd comments about women, Claar called the comments "unfortunate," but said he would still vote for Trump over Clinton.[10] |
Opposed Trump
| Mayors who opposed Trump as the Republican nominee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | City | Population | Statement |
| Kevin Faulconer | San Diego, California | 1.33 million | Faulconor told The San Diego Union-Tribune on May 6, 2016, that he would not endorse Trump. "I reject the rhetoric that we've seen on women. I reject the rhetoric that I've seen on the Latino community."[11] |
| Tomás Regalado | Miami, Florida | 417,650 | "He mistreats people, speaks derisively of people," said Regalado, who was born in Cuba. "A president’s biggest asset is the bully pulpit. This guy is capable of creating national and international chaos." The mayor said he would vote for neither Trump nor Clinton.[12] |
| Tom Tait | Anaheim, California | 345,012 | When the Anaheim City Council was considering a resolution that would condemn Trump's "divisive rhetoric," Tait said that although he did not support Trump, he would abstain from voting on the resolution. "I'm in a dilemma. Even though I don't support the rhetoric or Donald Trump, I also don't support city government taking a political position. My concern is violating the law by taking any vote on it. I don't be want to be part of that."[13] |
| Michael Nutter | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1.55 million | After Trump proposed blocking Muslims from entering the country, Nutter called the policy "ignorant" and compared it to the strategies of Hitler. "How can I take seriously any foreign policy idea from someone like him? It's impossible. He has no idea what he's talking about."[14] |
| Mike Duggan | Detroit, Michigan | 688,701 | Trump visited Great Faith International Ministries in Detroit in early September 2016. At a press conference organized by Clinton's campaign, Duggan questioned whether Trump was coming to the city to use them as "props in a re-imaging campaign." He said, "This is the most phony major party nominee that I have seen in my lifetime."[15] |
| Carlos Gimenez | Miami-Dade County, Florida | 2,662,874 | In October 2016, Giminez (R) said that he would vote for Clinton. "Donald Trump needs to step down. I don’t think he is viable as a presidential candidate," he said.[16] |
Left GOP
| Mayors who left the GOP due to Trump | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | City | Population | Statement |
| Danny Jones | Charleston, West Virginia | 49,736[17] | After 45 years as a Republican, Jones switched his party registration to "unaffiliated" in June 2016. "For the first time in my life, I cannot support the Republican nominee for president," he said, although he also clarified that he was "not a Trump hater." He intended to vote for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for president. Another reason that he left the GOP was "the obsession of the West Virginia House of Delegates’ leadership with the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act." Jones also said that after his current term as mayor, he would never run for office again.[18] |
| John Labrosse | Hackensack, New Jersey | 44,834[19] | Labrosse, along with Hackensack Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino, left the Republican Party in June 2016 to become registered independents. They made the following joint statement: "Hackensack is a very diverse city and we respect all of our residents regardless of their race or heritage. The divisive and racist statements that Trump keeps making are insulting to many of our people and completely unacceptable. [...] We are at the early stages of a renaissance that will make Hackensack one of New Jersey’s most desirable small cities. We don’t want partisanship to interfere with our great city’s exciting future."[20] |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 more information 2010 Demographic Profile Data - Audubon Park borough, Camden County, New Jersey," accessed June 30, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Trump inspires N.J. Dem mayor to go GOP; more may follow," June 24, 2016
- ↑ CNBC, "Trump worries go way down ballot — all the way to incumbent GOP mayors," June 23, 2016
- ↑ Omaha.com, "Stothert says she preferred other primary candidates but will vote for Trump," May 5, 2015
- ↑ Newson6.com, "Tulsa Mayor Says He Supports Trump For President," May 7, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Williamsport city, Pennsylvania," accessed July 6, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Gabe Campana," March 1, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Madison city, Mississippi," accessed July 6, 2016
- ↑ Jackson Free Press, "Long-time Republican Charles Evers Joins Madison Mayor, Others on Trump's Mississippi Team," March 4, 2016
- ↑ Chicago SunTimes, "Bolingbrook mayor backs Trump, other Illinois pols not forgiving," October 8, 2016
- ↑ The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Endorse Donald Trump? GOP Mayor Kevin Faulconer won't," May 6, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Will Miami’s Republican mayor vote for Trump? ‘Of course not,’" May 11, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Anti-Trump resolution 'not appropriate,' says Anaheim mayor," April 26, 2016
- ↑ NBC Philadelphia, "Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter Calls Trump an A--hole, Compares His Words to Hitler's," December 8, 2015
- ↑ Mlive, "Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan calls Donald Trump 'phony,' questions if Detroit is 'prop'," September 3, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Miami-Dade’s Republican mayor: I am voting for Clinton," October 9, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Charleston city, West Virginia," accessed July 6, 2016
- ↑ Charleston Gazette-Mail, "After 45 years, Danny Jones leaves Republican Party," June 17, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Hackensack city, New Jersey," accessed July 6, 2016
- ↑ PolitickerNJ, "Trump’s Judge Statement Forces Hackensack Electeds to Bail on GOP," June 9, 2016
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