Ever since I can remember, I was the odd one out in my far-left town. Imagine a conservative girl, passionate about politics, who booed Barack Obama during his inauguration and proudly wore her Mitt Romney shirt to high school in 2012. Now, I cannot bring myself to vote Republican in November. And as I watch this election unfold, I sit here wondering, did I change? Or did the party I once supported change?

Since the Republican National Convention that took place in Cleveland in July, I have heard the argument from multiple conservatives that we all need to come together and “vote for the lesser of two evils.” This is a phrase I refuse to buy into. I won’t compromise my beliefs voting for Republican nominee Donald Trump, someone I don’t respect or agree with.

I can’t blindly support a candidate that doesn’t hold the same values or belief system as I do just because of the side of the ballot he appears on. Recently, it seems that the Republican Party has become less concerned with the ideals on which they were founded and more interested in pushing their personal views on other people.

College Republicans officially endorse Donald Trump for presidentThe University of Wisconsin’s chapter of College Republicans Monday officially endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for president. In a statement, Read…

Trump has clearly presented himself as a bigot, offending various groups of people from Mexican-Americans, disabled people and Muslims, to African-Americans and women. It seems that with the election of a closed-minded candidate like Trump as a nominee, the ideals of equality that were so important to the Republican Party when it became prominent after the Civil War are long gone. It is impossible to imagine how it would feel for minorities to have a president who has personally insulted them.

Instead of being concerned with decreasing the size of government, the Republican Party has become interested in inflating the government to fit their needs. It is hypocritical for Trump to decrease the number of federal workers in certain areas of the government, while religiously repeating, “I’m going to build a wall,” something that would require a great deal of people to build and to staff. I can’t support a party that believes it’s preposterous to have background checks on potential gun owners, but wants to thoroughly investigate any and every refugee that comes to America. It’s total hypocrisy.

As a woman, a vote for Trump would be a vote against myself. Time and again, Trump has presented himself as sexist, valuing women for only their looks and making disgusting remarks about women he disagrees with. How can I respect a candidate who doesn’t respect a major part of who I am?

College Democrats, Republicans react to first presidential debateGOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton didn’t hold back many punches in their first of three Read…

Many of Trump’s supporters and even Trump himself will claim that all of his sexist, racist and bigoted comments are aimed at drawing attention to society’s obsession with being politically correct. Well, Trump isn’t being progressive, nor is he “telling it how it is” — he is just pushing his rude and ignorant opinions onto Americans. It’s one thing to be averse to political correctness and engage in civilized discussion of topics that are often avoided because they are perceived as offensive. It’s another thing to be straight up disrespectful.

I am a young conservative voter, and I will not be voting conservative. I want people to know that you shouldn’t feel obligated to vote with your party if the candidate does not represent your views and morals. Trump’s words and actions have shown that he is not fit to be the leader of our nation. As voters, it is our responsibility not to blindly stick to the right side of the ballot, but to elect someone we believe will actually “Make America Great Again.”