Republican state Sen. Jack Martins said he will support Donald Trump if he is the Republican nominee — with emphasis on “if.”
Speaking with Blank Slate Media after a press conference last week, Martins, the Republican nominee for New York’s 3rd Congressional District, said he would back his party’s controversial presumptive nominee in November’s presidential election over either of the Democratic candidates.
“It’s either support him, or support either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, so the choice is not between Donald Trump and somebody else,” said Martins, of Old Westbury. “It’s between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, and if Donald Trump is the nominee, which he isn’t yet, then I’ll support the Republican nominee — once we have a nominee.”
Trump is the last GOP candidate standing in a field that once included 17 people. His last rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich, suspended their campaigns after Trump’s primary victory in Indiana earlier this month.
Many prominent Republicans are standing behind Trump after denouncing him as a divisive candidate.
Among them are Long Island House representatives Peter King (R-Seaford) and Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who told Newsday May 4 they would back Trump. King was previously a vocal critic of the real estate magnate, but said earlier this year he would support the Republican nominee.
Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Mondello endorsed Trump in March ahead of New York’s April 19 primary, and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano followed.
Trump partially credited Mondello with his landslide New York victory in his speech at a May 11 Nassau GOP fundraiser, saying Mondello’s support helped him win by a large margin in the county.
Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern, one of five Democrats seeking his party’s nomination for the 3rd District, has called on Martins several times to denounce Trump. North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, another 3rd District Democrat, has also criticized his rhetoric on immigration.
