Michigan U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell leaves Republican Party over ‘unacceptable’ election claims
electors met in Lansing and across the U.S. on Monday to formally elect Democratic nominee Joe Biden as the president-elect based on the outcome of the Nov. 3 election. President Donald Trump and his allies have continued to try to sow doubt on the results, however, alleging that fraud or corruption in Michigan and several other battleground states despite having no evidence of widespread instances of either.
More:Michigan’s Electoral College delegates cast all 16 votes for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
The letter and Mitchell’s decision was first reported by CNN. Mitchell, who was already set to leave Congress next month after declining to run for a third two-year term this year, had been one of the few Republicans in Congress to say that Biden had won the election and that Trump needed to accept it.
Mitchell sent the letter asking that his party affiliation be changed to independent to Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the party’s leader in the U.S. House.
Rep. Justin Amash of Cascade Township, who also did not run for re-election this year, left the party and later became a Libertarian after calling for Trump’s impeachment.tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.