Republican Paul Mitchell quits party over Donald Trump’s post-election conduct

Republican congressman Paul Mitchell has angrily quit the party over Donald Trump’s post-election conduct, in the latest blow to the president.

Michigan congressman Paul Mitchell has quit the Republican Party over Donald Trump’s post-election conduct, in the latest blow to the embattled president.

Mr Mitchell, a two-term Republican who voted for Mr Trump this year “despite some reservations about four more years under his leadership”, shared his damning letter about top GOP officials on social media, writing that he was “disaffiliating” from the party, effective immediately.

He warned that elected Republicans could help the President do “long-term harm to our democracy” by continuing to accommodate and amplify Mr Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.

“It is unacceptable for political candidates to treat our election system as though we are a third-world nation and incite distrust of something so basic as the sanctity of our vote,” Mr Mitchell wrote.

He then decried Republican attacks on the Supreme Court “just because its judges, both liberal and conservative, did not rule with (Mr Trump’s) side or that ‘the Court failed him’”.

RELATED: Trump’s last ditch play after losing again

Today I am disaffiliating from the Republican Party.

See my letter below: pic.twitter.com/76IxC4FMvJ

— Rep. Paul Mitchell (@RepPaulMitchell) December 14, 2020

While Mr Mitchell wrote that he supported the right of any candidate to request recounts or challenge results in court, he said Mr Trump and his legal team had “failed to provide evidence of fraud or administrative failure on a scale large enough to impact the outcome of the election”.

“If Republican leaders collectively sit back and tolerate unfounded conspiracy theories and ‘stop the steal’ rallies without speaking out for our electoral process, which the Department of Homeland Security said was 'the most secure in American history’, our nation will be damaged,” he added.

In an interview with CNN’s The Lead following his resignation, Mr Mitchell accused the Republican Party of not prioritising democracy.

“This party has to stand up for democracy first, for our Constitution first, and not political considerations,” he said.

“Not to protect a candidate. Not simply for raw political power, and that’s what I feel is going on and I’ve had enough.”

RELATED: Melania hints at Trumps’ next move

Republican congressman Paul Mitchell has left the party over its refusal to accept Donald Trump's election loss. Picture: CNN

In the damning letter, Mr Mitchell warned that elected Republicans could help President Donald Trump do “long-term harm to our democracy”. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

The 64-year-old echoed the message of several others – both Republicans and Democrats – who have called on Mr Trump to show “grace” and accept defeat.

“Anybody that gets in politics has to be willing to accept winning and losing with some level of grace or maturity. I’ve done both. Losing is brutal, it’s personal, it hurts, but if you’re not willing to accept that, you should not be in political leadership,” Mr Mitchell, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, told the network.

“This country needs it desperately and, unfortunately, we haven’t seen it demonstrated as much as we should.”

His resignation comes as his state cast its 16 electoral votes for president-elect Joe Biden, with Mr Mitchell acknowledging he’ll likely “take abuse from both the far left and the far right”.

“In my opinion, the extremes of both parties are dragging their parties and this country off a cliff. The majority of Americans are in the middle. The majority of Americans want solutions to problems – want us to address them and not see who can have a political win,” he said.

“Not see who can grab political power for all it’s worth and actually do something to solve a problem for the American people.

“And frankly we haven’t done enough of that – haven’t done enough the last two terms. And this election simply confirms for me that it’s all about power first and that, frankly, is disgusting and demoralising.”