North Texas Republicans want Dallas elector to resign
Christopher Suprun from southern Dallas County has said he won't vote the will of the people because he can't vote for President-elect Donald Trump. But the people who selected him to that position feel he is a modern day Benedict Arnold.
People say they voted for Suprun and helped him become an elector because they saw him as a public servant hero. He was one of the first responders in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.
Suprun’s ex-supporters say his word has no weight and see his decision to not honor the vote for Trump in Texas as dishonorable.
The North Texas elector will be at the state capital on Monday when the Electoral College convenes.
“Our founding fathers gave us a great gift,” Suprun said. “And that gift was the constitution. In it was the opportunity to have a fail-safe system.”
Chuck Henne, Eugene Ralph and Stephen Broden represent Republicans in the thirtieth congressional district of Dallas County. That’s where Suprun is from.
“I do not agree with what this man is attempting to do by turning at the last minute,” Henne said.
“It was my endorsement, among several others, that encouraged him, encouraged people to vote for him in the majority because there was someone else running for that position,” Ralph said. “The idea that he would renege on what he vowed to do — we take great offense to that.”
Senator John Cornyn says he also feels betrayed by Suprun’s plan.
“It’s what I would call a ministerial function,” the senator said. “In other words, we're not asking them to do anything but cast votes on behalf of the people who voted in the election. And there’s really no real discretion involved on their part, in my view.”
Republicans from Congressional District Thirty want Suprun to step down.
“Resign his position and allow us to replace him with someone who will fulfill the oath of the electorate out of Congressional District Thirty,” Broden said.
“When asked if it’s possible Trump would not get the needed electoral votes to be named president," Suprun said. “I’m gonna pray for it like it’s up to God. And I’m gonna work for it like it’s up to me.”
The general election gave Trump 360 delegates pledged to vote for him at the Electoral College. He needs 270 to win. It would take 36 others like Suprun to keep him from getting to the magic number.
If President-elect Trump doesn’t get 270 votes, then the House of Representatives would then vote on who would be the next president.