Rep. Paul Mitchell leaving GOP

Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan announced in a letter on Monday that he was leaving the GOP, citing President Trump’s actions after the Nov. 3 election as the reason.

In a letter addressed to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), obtained by CNN, he explained his decision to leave his party despite years of support.

Mitchell expressed his belief that politicians, including the president, must be willing to accept the outcome of elections whether they win or lose.

“It is unacceptable for political candidates to treat our election system as though we are a third-world nation and incite distrust of something so basic as the sanctity of our vote,” said Mitchell. “Further, it is unacceptable for the president to attack the Supreme Court of the United States because its judges, both liberal and conservative, did not rule with his side or that ‘the Court failed him.’ It was our Founding Fathers’ objective to insulate the Supreme Court from such blatant political motivations.” 

Mitchell appeared to agree with sentiments shared by many GOP members that there had been issues surrounding the election, saying there were likely “administrative errors and even some fraudulent voting likely occurred” due to the sheer size of the voter turnout.

“However, the president and his legal team have failed to provide substantive evidence of fraud or administrative failure on a scale large enough to impact the outcome of the election,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell added, “Ronna, you know Michigan politics well. President Trump did not lose Michigan because of Wayne County, but rather he lost because of dwindling support in areas including Kent and Oakland County, both previous Republican strongholds.”

Watch GOP Rep. Paul Mitchell, who voted for Trump, announce he is leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent:pic.twitter.com/Ym6rvaA71a

— The Recount (@therecount) December 14, 2020