On election day, Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey’s 2nd district reaffirmed his full support for the Republican Party by casting his vote for Donald Trump. The move came as a surprise after the congressman withdrew his endorsement for the Republican nominee last month.
On Nov. 8, Jason Galanes, the spokesperson for LoBiondo, confirmed that the representative decided to change his mind about Trump and voted for him. According to Galanes, even though the congressman still disagrees with Trump on certain matters, he still believes that he is a more suitable president that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“He did vote for him,” Galanes said according to Philly.com. “He decided yesterday he would vote for him.”
“His disappointment and anger over Trump’s words stands, but Secretary Clinton is 100 percent unacceptable to be president,” the spokesperson added.
LoBiondo publicly rescinded his support for the Republican nominee last month after a video of Trump making inappropriate remarks towards women surfaced.
The clip, which was most likely unearthed by the candidate’s political rivals, had a significant effect on Trump’s campaign and had caused conflicts within the Republican Party. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, appealed to his party members who rescinded their endorsement for the presidential candidate to “come home” and fully support the GOP.
But, during the last weeks leading up to the election, Trump was still able to gain momentum and unify the Republican vote. Like LoBiondo, who was affected by the release of the video, some members of the Republican Party who withdrew their support for Trump still decided to vote for him in the end.
Many of them strongly believed that despite his flaws, he would still serve as a more effective leader of the country that Clinton. Some of the GOP’s high-profile members who decided to support Trump during the last days of the presidential race are Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
