DC GOP Vice-Chair Resigns Over Trump Nomination, Plans to Vote for Gary Johnson

By Brandon Morse | 6:00 PM on July 22, 2016

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*Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks to supporters and delegates at the National Libertarian Party Convention, Friday, May 27, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)*

The fallout from the RNC continues to cause chaos within the GOP.

In an article released by the Daily Beast, Gary Teal, vice-chair of the Washington, DC GOP revealed that he will be resigning from his post due to the fact that he cannot vote for the Republican Presidential nominee.

“If I’m not going to vote for the nominee, then I have to resign my position,” Teal said. “I’m prepared to do that.”

So where is he taking his vote then? Same place many others like Glenn Beck, and possibly Jeb Bush seem to be. He’s moving to the Libertarian ticket, and voting for Gary Johnson.

According to the Daily Beast, he’s not the only one planning on moving out of the Trump’s shadow, and toward the 3rd party.

Three additional delegates from Washington, D.C., joined Teal to announce their support for the libertarian candidate. Justin Dillon, Kris Hammond, and Peter Lee—who were wearing #NeverTrump buttons—spoke to The Daily Beast in the hallway of Quicken Loans Arena, just minutes after Donald Trump finished his keynote speech on Thursday night. “The RNC has bungled this nomination process by having bad rules,” Teal said, referring to a controversy over nominating rules that caused chaos on the convention floor Monday. “And now at this convention, they’ve sacrificed integrity in favor of unity.”

What may have been originally believed to be a just a small surface disturbance seems to be swiftly becoming a full on avalanche. As time goes on, more and more figures seem to be abandoning the GOP, and coming out in favor of the Johnson/Weld ticket.

The division within the Republican party created by Donald Trump has been a great gift to the Libertarians. If – or more likely when – Donald Trump loses the general election due to his inability to unite the right wing, it can at least be said that he helped put the Libertarian party into the national spotlight.

As we’ve reported earlier, Johnson’s recent “money comet” surpassed the original goal of $25,000 by over $125,000, and continues to rise. Furthermore, he continues to rise steadily in the polls, and currently sits at just a 13% approval rating. With just 15% needed to gain a spot on the debate stage, Johnson’s prospects are looking very good.