Pat Toomey, the former Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, recently took to the airwaves to announce a shocking twist in his political saga: he will not be casting his vote for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. One might think that a former Republican senator would proudly support the GOP candidate, but Toomey, who has had a rocky relationship with Trump, seems to have found a third option in a world of binary choices.
During his appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Toomey explained his reasoning. It appears that losing an election and then attempting to overturn the results doesn’t sit well with him. Imagine that! A politician with principles! He proudly claimed that he previously voted for Trump, twice no less, but apparently loyalty only runs so deep. It seems that Toomey’s threshold for supporting even a fellow Republican is contingent on whether they can accept defeat like a grown-up.
Toomey’s decision has prompted some head-scratching, especially given that he served as a U.S. senator for 12 years and distinguished himself as one of the seven Republicans who cast a vote to convict Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial. His revelation now paints him as a post-Republican, caught between a fading loyalty to an administration that invigorated the conservative base and the fear of a Harris presidency. The GOP establishment has to be thrilled hearing about yet another high-profile figure declaring their neutrality like some kind of political Switzerland.
His sentiment carries a warning about the threats that accompany Democrats holding the reins of power. Taxes could skyrocket, Medicare for All may not just become a catchy slogan, and don’t get him started on the Supreme Court expansion. Toomey may not want either candidate, but his fearmongering about a Democrat-controlled government certainly taps into a widely held sentiment among conservatives. They’ve seen what happens when the left gets too comfortable in power, and they aren’t about to let those memories fade.
While Toomey continues to play his political game, conservatives are left shaking their heads at the unprecedented refusal of a former Republican senator to back the party’s frontrunner. The Republicans need all hands on deck if they hope to regain ground in the upcoming election, but with figures like Toomey throwing in the towel, it’s no wonder that many in the GOP feel like they’re caught in a divided loyalty contest. If this is the new direction of the party, perhaps conservatives will want to reconsider their own roles in the upcoming election.
