Vancouver resident Ann Donnelly shares her thoughts on the efforts of the Republican party to win elections in Southwest Washington

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

I couldn’t agree more with Editor Vance in his plea for Republicans to unite to win elections. For want of 2800 votes, we lost the 3rd Congressional to the Democrats. 

To win these races, we need not only all the Republican votes (including those hated RINOS) but we need Independents. We do not live in a red district. Far from it. The heart of our 3rd Congressional is the 49th District – need I say more? 

Joe Kent is/was a great candidate with a stellar background and experience but he fell short with the moderate/liberal Republicans and the Independents. It is no disgrace to get those votes! To the contrary, it is essential. So we Republican activists need to stop insulting “RINOS” and try to get their votes on election day, and the same for Independents. 

I know so many Republicans who are huge opinion leaders in the Vancouver business community who are denigrated as RINOS. They represent thousands of votes – many more than would have elected Joe Kent. Liberal Democrats are our opponents, not other Republicans. 

Thank you, Editor Vance for your timely editorial.

Ann Donnelly 
Vancouver

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