A local political operative believes a herd mentality is endangering the party she belongs to.
“I’ve been involved in the party for 13 years now,” said Charity Marcus, who most recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for chair of the Tulsa County Republican Party.
She believes her loss could be attributed to what she calls an “all-or-nothing mentality” among some fellow Republicans.
“There is a small group of people in the party that, if you disagree with them on one thing... they feel like you shouldn’t be a part of the party. They want to basically tar, feather you and remove you out of the party,” she said.
Marcus said she received criticism during her campaign for supporting U.S. Senator James Lankford’s failed border security bill, which President Donald Trump reportedly helped to kill. Some state GOP members had Lankford censured for his efforts.
“There was no understanding, there was no conversation,” Marcus said. “It was really disheartening to see that that was the stance that we had people taking.”
Lankford later said many of his colleagues apologized for not passing his bill.
Former Tulsa County GOP Chair, Ronda Vuillemont-Smith, said in an interview she believed the Republican Party must be more open to diversity. Marcus agreed.
“We believe in Christian values, but, if somebody from the Islamic faith also agrees with our platform, they should be welcome.”
