Presidential Primary Endorsement

When Rick Santorum, my long-time favorite candidate, suspended his campaign following the Iowa caucuses, I intended to "endorse" a new candidate prior to the New Hampshire primary. However, I found myself entirely unable to decide on a single candidate. The field was still full of great options. I did, however, manage to narrow down my choices to John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Marco Rubio.

Before I reveal my choice (which probably will not be a huge surprise to many of you), let me first explain my thought process.

First and foremost, I am looking for a candidate who will protect human life at all stages. Excepting Donald Trump, all the candidates running are pro-life in most cases. Chris Christie almost immediately removed himself from the running with his despicable attacks on Rubio's strong pro-life beliefs. I understand that most candidates out there are in favor of exceptions in the case of rape and incest, but Christie took it a step further than that and accused Rubio of being too pro-life. For me, that was unacceptable. He then made it an even easier choice for me by dropping out of the race. That left me with Kasich and Rubio. Obviously, Rubio has the upper hand on this issue, as he is unashamedly pro-life in all cases, whereas Kasich allows for exceptions in the case of the life of the mother, rape, and incest. But I do admire John Kasich's strong record of fighting for life as Governor of Ohio, most recently his defunding of Planned Parenthood.

After the life issue, the most important thing to me this election is that we choose a candidate who can beat the Democratic nominee. I firmly believe that another four or eight years of Democratic control would be nothing short of disastrous for America. The problem here was that I think both Kasich and Rubio both have an excellent shot at beating Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. Most people agree that they are the two most electable Republicans in a general election.

I have long said that Republicans need a candidate who can be an eloquent spokesman for the conservative movement. We need the face of our party to be a man or woman who will not only unify the party, but also expand the party. The last time we had such a candidate was in the eighties with Ronald Reagan. Reagan united America in a way that few Presidents have been able to do. He built a coalition of  not just conservative and moderate Republicans, but also the so-called "Reagan Democrats." In order to start winning national elections again Republicans have to expand their base. America is becoming more and more diverse, and frankly, the demographics are not on our side. In Governor Kasich and Senator Rubio I see two men capable of doing this, each in a different way. Kasich has already done this in Ohio. He is an extremely popular Republican governor of a state that twice voted for President Obama. Kasich has succeeded in Ohio by being a true compassionate conservative. He really does care about people, especially the less fortunate and those who are suffering. His quiet leadership and empathy was manifested as he campaigned for president and connected with people in a way that I saw with few other candidates. I think everyone was moved by his powerful interaction with the young man in South Carolina. Rubio takes a different, but equally effective approach. His relentless optimism, energy, and determination are inspirational. He is an eloquent speaker who can articulate conservative values in a way that is understandable, logical, and appealing. He is a fresh face in a line of work that is dominated by career politicians too concerned with getting reelected to actually get anything done.

Finally, I want a candidate who will know how to get things done without compromising his values or betraying the trust of those who elected him. In short, I want someone with the guts to stand up to the establishment Republicans and the Democrats but with the ability to work with the other side. Again, Ronald Reagan was a perfect example of this. He was a principled conservative who also managed to work with the Democrats to get things done when he needed to. This is where I started to see separation between my two choices. While I love Gov. Kasich, I worry that he has been in the game too long already and could turn out to be just another establishment guy who caves to the Democrats whenever they demand it. This might be an unfounded fear, but we conservatives have been betrayed by their own party one too many times.

A brief word on the candidates I previously ruled out. While I admire Jeb Bush for his years of service and his strong conservative record as governor of Florida, it was clear that this just wasn't his year. As unfair as it might be, he represents the past, in a time when most people want something new. Ted Cruz is a fearless defender of liberty. He has unflinchingly stood for conservative principles during his career as a litigator and as a Senator. However, he has a serious likeability problem. He does not seem to be the type of candidate that would unify the country, since he is disliked by so many people. I admire him and would love to see him on the Supreme Court or as Attorney General, but I don't believe he is the messenger the party needs at this time. Ben Carson is a brilliant surgeon and a good man, but is wholly unqualified to be president, in my opinion. He is dead last in the race and I have a hard time understanding why he is still in the race.

I have spent weeks debating this choice with myself. But in the last few days it has finally become crystal clear to me. We cannot afford to wait any longer to stop the frontrunner. Donald Trump must be defeated and conservatives must unite behind a single candidate in order to defeat him. It's clear that this candidate won't be Cruz, as his base (Evangelical voters) has been stolen by Trump. And while I still admire John Kasich, I no longer see a path forward for him either.

For these reasons, I have decided to support Senator Marco Rubio for president. Marco is a man of faith, and a principled conservative who is well liked by conservatives and moderates alike. I believe he has the ability to unite the party and the country. Most importantly, I believe he is the only remaining candidate with a chance to defeat Trump. I would love to see a Rubio-Kasich ticket in November. With all due respect to the Democrats, a Rubio-Kasich ticket would thrash all comers.

And just so you know I'm not all talk and no action, I am going to put my money where my mouth is and make my first political donation and become a financial supporter as well. Yes, stuff did just get real, folks. Maybe I can buy myself some of that influence Bernie Sanders is always talking about.

I ask that you all consider joining me in supporting Marco Rubio. Together we can usher in a New American Century.