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Coverage of the 2016 presidential election from NPR News and related blogs, including candidate profiles, interviews and talking points.On-air specials will also be broadcast as Election Day approaches, including the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.WRVO also provides coverage of regional elections both on-air and online.

Hanna: Trump is 'unfit' to be president, says he'll vote for Clinton

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO News (file photo)
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-Barneveld) announced Tuesday that he will vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president

Rep. Richard Hanna (R-Barneveld) Tuesday became the first Republican member of Congress to say he will vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president in November. 

In an op-ed for syracuse.com, Hanna said that Republican nominee Donald Trump is "flawed in many ways" and says Trump is "unrepentant in all things." Hanna, in an interview with syracuse.com, said it was Trump's war of words with the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq that solidified his support for Clinton, and prompted him to write the opinion piece. 

In his latest foray of insults, Mr. Trump has attacked the parents of a slain U.S. soldier. Where do we draw the line? I thought it would have been when he alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught. Or the countless other insults he's proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium. For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country.

Hanna declined an interview with WRVO News, but has said previously thathe would not support Trump.

"A lot of people are just looking for an outlet to react to their -- I think rightful -- disdain, disgust with government," Hanna told WRVO in July. "But electing someone who's not competent to do the job is the opposite of what I think people should be doing." 

Hear more from WRVO's Payne Horning on why Hanna is crossing party lines. 

Hanna, who represents New York's 22nd Congressional District, which covers parts of eight counties in central New York and the Southern Tier, announced late last year that he would not see reelection and will retire at the end of this year. 

Jason has served as WRVO's news director in some capacity since August 2017. As news director, Jason produces hourly newscasts, and helps direct local news coverage and special programming. Before that, Jason hosted Morning Edition on WRVO from 2009-2019. Jason came to WRVO in January of 2008 as a producer/reporter. Before that, he spent two years as an anchor/reporter at WSYR Radio in Syracuse.