Chrissie Thompson

cthompson@enquirer.com

Warren County's Shannon Jones, a state senator who has vocally opposed the candidacy of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, has resigned her spot as a delegate to the Republican convention in Cleveland next month.

"I'm not going to participate in this process. I'm just not going to participate in it," said Jones, of Clearcreek Township, who is running unopposed for Warren County commissioner this fall.

As one of Ohio's 66 delegates to the convention, Jones was bound to cast her convention vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who won the state's presidential primary and whom she supported. But since Kasich has suspended his presidential campaign and Trump has wrapped up the nomination, Jones is opting not to cast a "symbolic" vote.

"This is about me, and the values that I stand for and I believe in, and the way that my husband and I want to set an example for our children," Jones told The Enquirer. "Conscientious objecting has been around since the founding of our country, so I'm exercising my right as an American to conscientiously object to the choices that have been foisted upon us."

Jones said she doesn't plan to vote for either Trump or presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the fall presidential election.

"I think the American people are better than the choices that we have, frankly. I'm just – ugh," she said.

The Ohio Republican Party will work with Kasich to appoint an alternate to fill Jones' spot.

The party also must appoint an alternative for former state Rep. Ross McGregor, of Springfield. McGregor, a moderate Republican who now serves on the State Personnel Board of Review, said he is unable to attend the convention because of a family issue.

"If anything, I regret that I will not be able to be at the convention to vote against Donald Trump," McGregor said. "The dude's just wack.

"I served with a lot of very conservative Republicans. And while we all may not have agreed on every issue, we at least, by and large, maintained a sense of decorum and respect for the institution in which we served, and I see none of that in Donald Trump."

McGregor said he isn't sure who he will vote for in the fall.