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Ohio Sen. Rob Portman revokes support for Donald Trump

Posted at 11:33 AM, Oct 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-10 11:34:27-04

Ohio Senator Rob Portman was one of several Republicans who revoked support for their party's nominee following the release of tapes in which Donald Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife on audio and video recordings from 2005. 

Just one month from Election Day, Portman released a statement saying he can no longer support the candidate.

Read the full statement below:

As I said yesterday, Donald Trump's comments were offensive and wrong. I had hoped to support the candidate my party nominated in the primary process. I thought it was appropriate to respect the millions of voters across the country who chose Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee. While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump, I can no longer support him. I continue to believe our country cannot afford a Hillary Clinton presidency. I will be voting for Mike Pence for President.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich also spoke out about Trump's lewd comments over the weekend, saying he wasn't surprised by the news: 

Nothing that has happened in the last 48 hours is surprising to me or many others. Many people were angry and questioned why I would not endorse Donald Trump or attend the Republican Convention.  I’ve long had concerns with Donald Trump that go beyond his temperament. We have substantive policy differences on conservative issues like trade, our relationship with Russia, and the importance of balancing the federal budget.  I’ve held out hope that he would change on those disqualifying policy positions, but he has not.  I’ve also encouraged him to change his behavior for the better and offer a positive, inclusive vision for our country, but he has not.  It's clear that he hasn't changed and has no interest in doing so.  As a result, Donald Trump is a man I cannot and should not support. The actions of the last day are disgusting, but that’s not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about.  I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country.  Our country deserves better.