In Latest Evolution of GOProud Founder, an Endorsment for Hillary Clinton

Jimmy LaSalvia left the Republican Party when it seemed it would never progress on LGBT issues.

The gay man who cofounded GOProud, once endorsed Mitt Romney, and feted Ann Coulter has today endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.

And with that, Jimmy LaSalvia has seemingly completed his transformation from an ardent Republican to an independent who is so disillusioned by where his former party is headed that he wrote a book about it — No Hope: Why I Left the GOP (And You Should Too).

LaSalvia compares why he's OK supporting Clinton now to why he could support Romney in the last election despite the candidate's antigay views.

"To be sure, I disagree with Clinton on a number of specific policies, but no free-thinking American agrees with their candidate on every issue," he wrote today for The Huffington Post. "That was obviously true in 2012 when I was the gay for Mitt, remember. It is important to judge the candidates on more than just their positions on specific issues. It's their experience, depth of knowledge, and their vision of America that really matters. "

LaSalvia — who as cofounder of GOProud ran a group that was considered the more Tea Party-like counterpart to Log Cabin Republicans — credits his shedding of partisan skin with letting him consider candidates from both sides of the aisle. He left the party officially in 2014.

"I don't have the bias of political affiliation to tilt my point of view anymore," he wrote. "That freedom is something that I regret not embracing sooner."