Republican Sen. Todd Young said he will not vote for former President Donald Trump in November, as the ex-president seeks a second term in the White House.
The Indiana lawmaker is one of the few sitting Republicans not to side with Trump — including his own Vice President Mike Pence — after he reached the number of delegates needed to become the party’s presidential nominee.
In a new local interview, the Indiana senator said he’s tired of his vote being taken for granted.
“At some point, principled conservatives have to get our party, the Republican Party, to nominate someone that principled conservatives can actually believe in,” Young, 51, told the Indiana Reporter on Monday. Dave Bangert.
“I’m tired of my vote being taken for granted, and I think a lot of Hoosiers are,” he added.
Young said he wouldn’t vote for Trump in November, but he also wouldn’t vote for President Biden from across the aisle.
Senator Young said he would not vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election
Young is one of the few Republican lawmakers not to side with Trump since he received enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.
The interview is not the first time Young has signaled his opposition to the ex-president.
WEVV reported earlier this month, before Trump received the delegates needed to clinch the nomination, that Young was unsure who we would support as the party’s nominee.
Young spoke about Trump’s vision for the war in Ukraine, where Trump would not say Putin is a war criminal and take sides.
Young said Hoosiers need to decide who they will support.
Asked shortly afterward by CNN about his position, Young said that remained his position.
“From my point of view, nothing has changed. I trust the people I represent to make their own decisions about who they will vote for.
While Trump received the delegates needed to be the party’s nominee last week, Indiana won’t hold its primary until May 7.
Young’s resistance comes as a number of Republicans have decided to support Trump as he continues to win nearly every state GOP primary and is the only candidate still in the race.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was one of the most prominent Republicans on the Hill to support Trump the day after Super Tuesday after Nikki Haley suspended her campaign.
The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, also announced he would support Trump late last month.
Trump received enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination in the March 12 election.
But Young isn’t the only Hoosier to withhold support.
Just days ago, former Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor, said he would not support his former boss.
In an interview with Fox News, Pence cited Trump’s failure to tackle the national debt, distance himself from pro-life issues, and the ex-president’s opposition to a congressional bill banning TikTok as three reasons he wouldn’t support Trump.
Pence also highlighted his well-known disagreement with Trump over his decision to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6.
“Given these profound differences,” Pence said. “I cannot, in good conscience, publicly support President Trump.”
In his Monday interview, Young highlighted Pence’s opposition and said a few of his Senate colleagues “have a similar view.”
He said he wasn’t surprised by Pence in light of their history.
“As Mike indicated, he has serious policy concerns. Mike is a principled conservative,” Young added.
Several other Republican senators have indicated they will not vote for Trump.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski says she may not vote for Trump in 2024.
In January, Maine Sen. Susan Collins said she would not support Trump even if he were the party’s nominee.
Over the weekend, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy told NBC’s Meet the Press that he would vote for a Republican in the presidential election, but declined to say whether he would support Trump.
Young was first elected to the Senate in 2016 and re-elected in 2022, so he is not up for re-election until 2028.