Paul Mitchell will serve the remainder of his term as an independent.
U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell has left the Republican Party over its refusal to accept President Donald Trumpās loss to Joe Biden.
In an interview with CNNās Jake Tapper Monday, shortly after Michiganās electors formally cast their votes for Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris, Mitchell said he can no longer be associated with a party that does not recognize the election result. Mitchell did not seek reelection and will serve the remainder of his short time in Congress as an independent.
āI voted for Donald Trump. I supported the administrationās policies 95% to 96% of the time in my last two terms. Iāve been active in the national and state party, but this party has to stand up for democracy first, for our Constitution first and not political considerations, not simply for raw political power,ā Mitchell said. āThatās what I feel thatās going on and Iāve had enough.ā
Biden won Michigan by 154,188 votes, according to results certified by all of the stateās counties and finalized with the meeting of electors Monday. Bidenās margin of victory is 14 times larger than Trumpās 2016 victory in Michigan.
Mitchell has pushed back against unproven allegations of voter fraud in several statements posted to Twitter and an op-ed published by the Detroit News. Mitchell said Trump is damaging the country and also criticized Republican leaders for undermining the election and spreading misleading information.
Country over party, not party over country.
