A West Virginia state senator running as a Democrat for a House seat revealed Tuesday that he voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
State Sen. Richard Ojeda (D-Logan), said he voted for the president—who maintains a 61 percent approval rating in West Virginia—even though Ojeda said he does not agree with everything Trump says.
“If you have a great idea, I’ll support your great idea. But if you don’t have a great idea, I won’t,” he said, referring to Trump in an interview with the Hill. “Just because I support somebody doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll agree with them always. If they do not do something that’s correct, I have the right to make comment.”
Ojeda is running for the seat vacated by Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV), who resigned from Congress to unsuccessfully run for the U.S. Senate. Jenkins, who left the Democratic Party in 2013 to become a Republican, lost the Republican party to West Virginia State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
The military veteran turned congressional candidate faces an uphill battle in a conservative district where Trump won the 2016 election by 19 points.
Even though Ojeda voted for Trump, he voiced his displeasure with the president’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, saying he disagrees with separating illegal immigrant families at the border.
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