Virginia Congressman Scott Rigell announced that he will vote for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson in November.
Rigell, who is retiring after this term, had previously stated that he would not vote for either Trump or Hillary.
“I’ve always said I will not vote for Donald Trump and I will not vote for Hillary Clinton,” Rigell told the New York Times. “I’m going to vote for the Libertarian candidate.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Richard Hanna of New York wrote in an wrote in an op-ed for Syracuse.com that he will be voting for Hillary Clinton.
“Secretary Clinton has issues that depending on where one stands can be viewed as great or small. But she stands and has stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime,” Hanna wrote. “That matters. Mrs. Clinton has promoted many of the issues I have been committed to over the years including expanding education and supporting women’s health care.”
Later in the week, Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger also said he wouldn’t back Trump.
Rigell also said many Republican candidates have asked him for advice and he expects more GOP congress members and local Republican officials to possibly not vote for Trump as Election Day nears.
Though Rigell said he still considers himself a Republican, he said he would become an independent if the Republican Party became synonymous with Trump’s ideas beyond the election.
Kinzinger has stated categorically that he would not vote for Clinton, but has left the door open to voting for Johnson or some other third party candidate.
Hanna is also retiring after this term and his defection is hardly unexpected given his liberal track record.
Rigell, a Marine who was first elected in the wave election of 2010, has been a reliable conservative vote on most issues during his time in office. He wasn’t the first congressman to come out for the Libertarian and he won’t be the last.
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