A rising GOP star at 20, Aundre Bumgardner defects over Trump

[femmedem]

Last edited Thu Jan 25, 2018, 11:06 AM - Edit history (1)

"On a difficult election night for Connecticut Republicans in 2014, Aundré Bumgardner was one of the bright spots, a 20-year-old black candidate whose election to the state House gave the GOP a jolt of youth and racial diversity. He was hailed by the Republican state chairman as “part of the next generation of leaders in our party.”

Three years later, Bumgardner no longer is a member of the House or the Republican Party.
In fact, Bumgardner’s name showed up recently in the unlikeliest of places. He is listed as the campaign treasurer of the Democrat who unseated him in 2016: Rep. Joe de la Cruz of Groton. Bumgardner’s acceptance of the post underscores that not only did he exit the GOP, he is an active Democrat.

Bumgardner, now 23 and back in college, said there is no place for him in a Republican Party that tolerates the racial insensitivity of President Trump, who called for a ban on Muslim immigration as a candidate and seemed to defend white supremacists after a violent protest in Charlottesville, Va., last summer.

“It actually was Charlottesville that pushed me over the edge,” Bumgardner said. “It wasn’t even so much the words President Trump used, but more so the inaction coming from the Republican Party, not just at the national level, but to a certain extent the state and local level. Silence is absolute complicity.”

More: https://ctmirror.org/2018/01/24/a-rising-gop-star-at-20-aundre-bumgardner-defects-over-trump/

I've known Bumgardner since he was in high school, and I'm glad he's realized he's a Democrat.

[Funtatlaguy]

1. Send him into the rural areas

These are the types of people that should go work in Dem campaigns this fall i rural Repub areas.
They can speak their language and know their hot buttons.

[femmedem]

2. I agree!

Plus he has a genuine smile that makes him great door-to-door. That was how he first got elected as a Republican in a majority Democratic district.

[kstewart33]

3. Thank you for posting.

An encouraging start to the morning.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. Awesome

I have to wonder what he thought of Trump's campaign (and his Birther record) but better late than never, I guess. I'm glad to see some Republicans opposed to Trump actually doing something productive to help resist. Part of me wonders, however, once Trump is gone (and he WILL be gone sooner or later one way or another) and Republicans (maybe) put up a more "conventional" Republican candidate, if they will return to the fold.

[femmedem]

5. He said during the Trump campaign that he didn't endorse him and wouldn't vote for him.

Edited to add: not just in private conversation, but in a debate.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. That's good

[Doodley]

7. I would guess he was indoctrinated from a young age, but maturity has given him a new perspective