GOP lawmaker voting for Johnson leaves local Republican Party

Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.), who is backing Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson over GOP nominee Donald Trump, is resigning from the Republican Party of Virginia Beach after local officials considered removing him.

{mosads}“The wheels were in motion to remove me, so I thought it best to resign,” Rigell told a local TV station on Monday.

“I understand and respect the party’s bylaws and how they apply to me,” he said.

Rigell, who is retiring at the end of his term, last week became the first member of Congress to support Johnson, saying Americans are in desperate need of a third presidential option.

“My conscious directed me to a different candidate after a long and deliberative process, and this is a consequence of that decision,” he said at the time. “I think the American people are desperate for a third alternative.”

Rigell told MSNBC on Tuesday that Trump is a “true risk” to the U.S.

“I [support Johnson], because the nominee from our party, the Republican nominee … is so lacking in judgment and in character that I think he really represents a true risk to our country. And I cannot in good conscience support him.”

Despite his opposition to Trump, Rigell maintained that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is also unqualified to be president.

“The Democratic alternative is equally unworthy of walking into the Oval Office and being called ‘Madam President,’ ” he said.