Utica Area Republican Congress Member Richard Hannamade public his decision Tuesday to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton. In a letter to The Syracuse Post Standard and Syracuse-dot-com, Hanna says he fears Donald Trump will make issues such as tax reform, infrastructure, immigration and the environment much worse. In the opinion letter Hanna further calls Trump offensive and narcissistic.
The leader of Onondaga County’s Republican Party is criticizing Hanna of “stabbing the G-O-P in the back” by saying he’ll vote for Clinton. County Party Chair Thomas Dadey says Hanna used the party and its resources to get re-elected in the 22nd district, but is now abandoning rank-and-file members. Dadey has supported Trump throughout the campaign and serves as co-chair of the Donald J. Trump New York State Campaign Leadership Team.
Dadey adds Hanna’s support for Clinton will continue President Obama’s policies for four more years, which he equates with slow economic growth, leaving workers behind and shrinking the US image in the rest of the world.
In his letter, Hanna says the country needs a working two-party system that includes compromise. He note the US should be a "pluralistic society that values tolerance and inclusiveness." He further blamed the primary process for working against those values, and alienating "women, Hispanics, the LGBT community, young voters and many others." Hanna addressed Clinton's issues as being "great or small" but adds she has "stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime," including issues important to Hanna, such as education and women's health care.
Hanna is not running for reelection in his 22nd Congressional District. W-A-E-R’s past reporting has also chronicled his moderate positions on issues such as equal pay for women, the environment, and same sex marriage.
Hanna's letter, in which he sums up that Trump "is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country," comes on the same day in which a New York Times Editorial calls on GOP leaders such as Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and John McCain to withdraw their support for Trump.
