Here are all the Republicans who have abandoned Donald Trump over his predatory comments
Donald Trump came under withering criticism of his party's leadership Friday night after the Washington Post published a leaked tape of the Republican presidential nominee making predatory remarks about women.
But in the hours after the bombshell revelation that Trump said he could grope women "by the pussy" because he was entitled to "do anything" as a celebrity, few prominent Republicans went so far as to withdraw their support from the real estate mogul.
By Saturday, the dynamic had changed, with a steady trickle of GOP officials, including 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, disavowing him just one month before Election Day. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee brought at least a temporary end to its "Victory" efforts on behalf of Trump's candidacy.
Here's a running list of Republicans who say they've finally had enough.
Kelly Ayotte
The New Hampshire senator — who's locked in a virtual tie with Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan as she seeks a second Senate term this fall — issued a statement Saturday morning saying she "cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women."
Instead, Ayotte said, she would write in Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, Trump's running mate.
Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said it would mark a supreme irony if Republicans responded to Trump's misogynistic comments by bolting for Pence, whose staunchly anti-abortion rights record and funding cuts to Planned Parenthood have been derided by women's health advocates.
"Trading Trump's violent language for Pence's devastating policy proposals is a horrifying substitution. Donald Trump and Mike Pence have been partners in the same agenda – and that's what we have to reject," Richards said in a statement.
Jon Huntsman
The former Utah governor, ambassador to China and 2012 presidential hopeful rescinded his endorsement in a Salt Lake Tribune interview Friday, saying Trump should step aside in favor of Pence.
Trump, for his part, told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that there was "zero chance" he'd quit the race.
Mike Crapo
In a statement released Saturday morning, the Idaho senator said Trump's "pattern of behavior has left me no choice" but to withdraw support.
"I have spent more than two decades working on domestic violence prevention," Crapo added, saying Trump's words were "inconsistent with protecting women from abusive, disparaging treatment."
Gary Herbert
The Utah governor on Friday abandoned plans to vote for Trump next month, tweeting that Trump's remarks were "beyond offensive & despicable."
Jason Chaffetz
"I'm out," the Utah congressman and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced after the leak of Trump's remarks.
"I can't look my 15-year-old daughter in the eye and tell her I endorsed this person to become the president of the United States," he added.
Joe Heck
The Nevada congressman, who's vying for the Senate seat being abandoned by Democrat Harry Reid and narrowly leads opponent Catherine Cortez-Masto in most recent polls, said at a Las Vegas campaign rally Saturday that his conscience would not allow him to continue supporting Trump.
"My wife, my daughters, my mother, my sister and all women deserve better," Heck said. "The American people deserve better."
Barbara Comstock
The Northern Virginia congresswoman, whom Democrats see as a ripe target for defeat next month, called on Trump to drop out Friday night.
"This is disgusting, vile, and disqualifying. No woman should ever be subjected to this type of obscene behavior and it is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office. In light of these comments, Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party," Comstock said, the Washington Post reported.
Bradley Byrne
The Alabama congressman pronounced Trump "not fit" to hold the nation's highest office after the leak, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
Martha Roby
The Advertiser reported that Byrne's fellow House member from Alabama had also dropped her support for the party's nominee, declaring, "Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him."
Dennis Daugaard
"Enough is enough," the South Dakota governor tweeted Saturday, calling for Trump to make way for Pence.
John Thune
The South Dakota senator echoed his governor's statement in a tweet posted five minutes after Daugaard's.
Chris Stewart
The congressman has joined fellow Utahans Chaffetz and Herbert in abandoning Trump, a local Fox affiliate reported.
Cresent Hardy
The Nevada congressman, who narrowly won his seat in 2014 and faces a fiercely competitive contest to hang onto it this year, jumped off the Trump Train at the same campaign rally Saturday where Heck also disavowed the nominee.
"I've said all along that I would support him, but I no longer will," Hardy said, in remarks quoted by Politico.
Scott Garrett
Another top Democratic target this year, the New Jersey congressman called Trump's comments "inexcusable" on Saturday, saying that Pence would be "the best nominee for the Republican Party to defeat Hillary Clinton."
Ann Wagner
"As a strong and vocal advocate for victims of sex trafficking and assault, I must be true to those survivors and myself and condemn the predatory and reprehensible comments of Donald Trump," the Missouri congresswoman said in a statement.
"I withdraw my endorsement and call for Gov. Pence to take the lead so we can defeat Hillary Clinton," she added.
Rodney Davis
Citing his horror as the parent of "a teenage daughter and teen twin boys," the Illinois congressman issued a statement withdrawing his endorsement for Trump and requesting that his name be removed from Trump's agriculture policy committee.
"With the terrible options America has right now, I cannot cast my vote for any of the candidates, so I hope Donald Trump withdraws from the race so the American people can elect Mike Pence as our next president," he added.
Dan Sullivan
The Alaska senator has come a long way from July, when he spoke at the Republican National Convention, concluding his speech by imploring delegates to "make America great again."
Saying Saturday that Americans needed a leader who would "choose respect and change the culture of abuse against women and children," Sullivan said Trump's comments showed that "he can't."
"Therefore, I am withdrawing my support for his candidacy," he added.
Sullivan's home-state colleague, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, declared Saturday that Trump had "forfeited his right to be our party's nominee," although she had never committed to supporting his candidacy.
Robert Bentley
In recent months, Alabama's governor has been embroiled in a sex scandal involving a former aide. But Trump's comments boasting about sexual assault were a bridge too far for Bentley.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported Saturday afternoon that he had joined fellow Alabama Republicans Roby and Byrne in retracting his support for Trump.
John McCain
The Arizona senator and 2008 nominee had grudgingly backed Trump — even after Trump insulted his war service — but McCain announced Saturday afternoon that he'd reached his breaking point. He and wife Cindy would write in another Republican instead, he said.
Rob Portman
The Ohio senator, who's currently cruising to re-election despite once looking vulnerable to Democratic challenger Ted Strickland, issued a statement Saturday night saying, "While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump , I can no longer support him. I continue to believe our country cannot afford a Hillary Clinton presidency. I will be voting for Mike Pence for President."
