A Rising GOP Star At 20, Aundré Bumgardner Defects Over Trump

On a difficult election night for Connecticut Republicans in 2014, Aundre Bumgardner was one of the bright spots, a 20-year-old black (CTLatinoNews.com  Editor’s Note:  Bumgarder’s parents are from Panama) candidate whose election to the state House gave the GOP a jolt of youth and racial diversity. He was hailed by the Republican state chairman as part of the next generation of leaders in our party.
Three years later, Bumgardner no longer is a member of the House or the Republican Party.
In fact, Bumgardner’s name showed up recently in the unlikeliest of places. He is listed as the campaign treasurer of the Democrat who unseated him in 2016: Rep. Joe de la Cruz of Groton. Bumgardner’s acceptance of the post underscores that not only did he exit the GOP, he is an active Democrat.
Bumgardner, now 23 and back in college, said there is no place for him in a Republican Party that tolerates the racial insensitivity of President Trump, who called for a ban on Muslim immigration as a candidate and seemed to defend white supremacists after a violent protest in Charlottesville, Va., last summer.
“It actually was Charlottesville that pushed me over the edge, Bumgardner said. “It wasn’t even so much……