Republican Congressman Says He Might Back Hillary Clinton Over Donald Trump

By Luke Brinker 1 hour ago

Even before she formally launched her second White House bid in April, Hillary Clinton was raking in endorsements from prominent national Democrats, locking down the support of a party establishment that was bitterly divided in 2008.

Now, Clinton may win support from a decidedly unexpected source: a sitting Republican congressman.


In an interview with Miami's CBS affiliate WFOR, first-term Rep. Carlos Curbelo addressed rumors that he's been telling local Democrats he could back Clinton in the general election should Donald Trump emerge as the GOP standard-bearer.

"I think both Donald Trump and Mrs. Clinton are flawed candidates, if you look at the polls the majority of Americans have negative views on both of them," Curbelo said. "So I am going to wait and see what happens on our side, but I have already said I will not support Mr. Trump. That is not a political decision, that is a moral decision."

Curbelo — who's broken with conservative orthodoxy on same-sex marriage and immigration reform but is a steadfast opponent of abortion rights and the Obama administration's detente with Cuba — said he wouldn't "necessarily" vote for Clinton, and that he was open to backing a third-party candidate.

Still, his openness to voting for the former secretary of state marks a notable first.

Writing in February that he would never support Trump's candidacy, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, the most vocal leader of the #NeverTrump movement in Congress, hastened to add that there was also no circumstance under which he's back Clinton.

Curbelo's remarks come nearly two weeks after Kim Romano, a Key West, Florida, woman and self-identified Clinton supporter, posted on Facebook that Curbelo had told her he'd pull the lever for the Democrats in a Clinton-Trump election.

Curbelo had supported Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for president until he suspended his presidential campaign on March 15, following his loss to Trump in the Florida primary.

http://news.yahoo.com/republican-congressman-says-might-back-141400758.html