The Latest: Republican faces backlash for bucking the party
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Latest on the Nebraska Republican Party urging a GOP state lawmaker to switch parties (all times local):
4:50 p.m.
A Nebraska state lawmaker is facing calls to leave the GOP after he blasted fellow Republicans for "enabling white supremacy" and staying silent after President Donald Trump made inflammatory comments about minorities.
Sen. John McCollister's comments following this weekend's mass shootings in Texas and Ohio drew a sharp rebuke from the Nebraska Republican Party, which urged him to "tell the truth about his partisan views" and register as a Democrat.
U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan faced similar criticism from Trump himself after announcing last month that he was leaving the GOP.
McCollister says he's disappointed but not surprised by the party's reaction, and he doesn't intend to leave. Party officials say McCollister has voted against Republican core principles for years.
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9:07 a.m.
The Nebraska Republican Party is calling on a state senator to leave the party and re-register as a Democrat after the lawmaker accused GOP officials of "enabling white supremacy in our country."
Nebraska Republican Party Executive Director Ryan Hamilton said Monday that state Sen. John McCollister has been telegraphing for years that he has little in common with the GOP voters in his Omaha district.
The statement came after McCollister blasted the party for not speaking out against President Donald Trump's inflammatory comments about minorities.
McCollister has said he doesn't intend to switch parties.
Hamilton says McCollister's voting record on guns, taxes and abortion runs counter to what most conservatives believe. In May, McCollister spoke at an abortion-rights rally at the Nebraska Capitol.
