Devout GOP pundit says he's voting for Democrats: My party needs to 'hit rock bottom'

Longtime conservative writer Matt K. Lewis said he's finally had enough of the Republican Party under President Donald Trump, publicly announcing in a new column that he'll be voting for Democrats across the board this November, a first in his decades of voting history.

Lewis, a self-described lifelong Republican who's never actually cast a ballot for Trump but also never crossed over to vote for a Democratic opponent in a general election, laid out his reasoning in a Washington Sun column. He described a voting history built around protest write-ins, including choosing Ronald Reagan over both Trump and Biden in 2020 and over Trump and Harris 2024, rather than ever formally backing a Democrat.

This year marks his breaking point — as he now believes the GOP needs to "hit rock bottom" for it to be saved.

"Trump is a greater threat to my conservative values and policy preferences than any Democrat. His level of chaos and corruption has gotten worse during his second term, which is saying a lot," Lewis wrote.

Lewis argued nearly every elected Republican has made themselves complicit in Trump's excesses, citing the war in Iran, dismissive rhetoric toward Americans worried about AI and data centers, the administration's media restrictions, immigration enforcement violence, and continued election denialism. He framed a decisive midterm defeat as the only realistic path toward reforming the party, arguing Republicans have repeatedly dodged genuine accountability thanks to structural advantages like the Electoral College and a refusal to accept past election losses, much the way people often need to reach a personal low point before they're willing to confront destructive patterns.

Lewis pointed to early signs that some Republicans are already quietly distancing themselves from unpopular Trump policies, including the Iran war and Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics, as evidence that a stinging electoral loss could accelerate that independence. He warned the opposite would happen if Republicans avoid a rout this cycle, reinforcing the belief that loyalty to Trump remains the party's safest political bet.

Anticipating backlash from fellow conservatives, Lewis dismissed the idea his column could meaningfully sway the midterms, arguing Trump has already done far more electoral damage through his handling of tariffs, the Iran conflict, and his targeting of Republican senators like John Cornyn and Thom Tillis who've crossed him. He also noted Trump would remain president regardless of which party controls Congress, framing the election as a check on presidential power rather than a referendum capable of enacting a progressive agenda.

Lewis closed by acknowledging he doesn't expect the GOP to swiftly return to its pre-Trump identity, and that Never Trump conservatives like himself remain too small a bloc to decide the election on their own. Still, he argued a clear repudiation at the ballot box is a necessary first step before any real reform becomes possible.

"For 2026, at least, I’m committing the ultimate act of rebellion," he wrote. "I hope other Republicans will do so as well — and maybe, just maybe, we can save our party in the process."