'One vote is our weapon': Ana Navarro's endorsement of Hillary Clinton will punch you in the gut
Longtime Republican strategist Ana Navarro announced on Monday that she had decided to cross party lines and vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
In a column for CNN.com, Navarro explains that she had intended to write in a vote for her mother if the polls showed that Donald Trump had no chance to win her home state of Florida.
"But darn it, my home state is too close to call. Florida could be the decisive state (again) as to who ultimately becomes the next president of the United States," she writes. "I thought back to the 2000 election, which was decided by 537 votes in Florida. I thought about how I would feel if the same thing happened in 2016. I thought and I thought and I thought..."
"Then I cast my vote for Hillary Clinton," the GOP strategist adds. "Let me rephrase that. I cast my vote against Donald Trump. I did it without joy or enthusiasm. I did it out of civic duty and love for our country."
Navarro goes on to lay out a lengthy case against the Republican nominee, citing his disrespect for immigrants, women and American democratic principles.
Our founding fathers set up a government of checks and balances. We can and have survived presidents with bad judgment. But I fear the effects on America of a president with bad character.I worry that Trump brings out the worst in America. Division. Hostility. Racism. Bigotry. Misogyny. Things we used to hide. Feelings we used to try to overcome. Under the guise of not cowing to political correctness, some people are no longer embarrassed or ashamed to show the warts on their souls.
Some tell me, in 2016 we should no longer expect the president of the United States to be a role model. I refuse to accept that.
"My conscience compels me to do every little thing I can to make sure a bad person is not our next president. In America, we don't choose our leaders through violence or armed insurrections," Navarro concludes. "One vote is our right. One vote is our weapon. I am exercising mine against Donald Trump."
Read Navarro's entire column here.
Watch an Oct. 7 clip of Navarro calling for Trump to quit the race.