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Does Miami U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo -- a GOPer -- plan to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Did Miami U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo -- a Republican -- say he plans to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Miami Herald's news partner CBS4  reported that in an interview Thursday with Jim DeFede, Curbelo refused to rule out voting for Clinton, saying instead he hopes that Trump will be stopped or there will be a third-party candidate he could support.

“I think both Donald Trump and Mrs. Clinton are flawed candidates, if you look at the polls the majority of Americans have negative views on both of them,” said Curbelo, who was first elected to the House in 2014. “So I am going to wait and see what happens on our side, but I have already said I will not support Mr. Trump, that is not a political decision that is a moral decision.”

DeFede reported that two women at a clinic in Key West said that Curbelo told them he would vote for Clinton rather than Trump. Curbelo told the TV station that he told one of the women that a lot of Republicans he knows would vote for Clinton. "What I've said publicly over and over again to the media is I will not support Mr. Trump under any circumstances. That does not mean automatically supporting Hillary Clinton."

Curbelo put out a statement on Facebook this message today denying that he will vote for Clinton:

"Dear friends, just to dispel a rumor started by a misleading news story, I have no intention of supporting either of the candidates currently leading in the delegate count of each respective party. I believe that delegates at the Republican Convention will have the option of nominating the best candidate for President, and I'm hopeful that they will make a good choice - someone my family can proudly support."

Curbelo is a moderate Republican in a swing district who will face a battle for his seat in November in a Miami-Dade/Monroe county district. He has sided with Democrats on some issues -- for example, he believes in addressing climate change and supports same-sex marriage. However, he is a fiscal conservative and opposes abortion. 

Miami-Dade was the only county to not vote for Trump during the primary -- Marco Rubio won his home county.

This blog has been updated with information from Curbelo's Facebook post

 

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