WASHINGTON — Ithaca’s Congressman is restating his support for Donald Trump as primary voting takes place in a number of states today.

People will head to the polls in Utah and Arizona for both parties, as well as Idaho for the Democrats, as Trump looks to further his lead in the race to the Republican nomination. Congressman Tom Reed had announced his endorsement of the billionaire businessman last week, and says he stands by that decision.

Reed says he recognizes the will of voters to make Trump the party’s candidate, and other people should too.

“We are going down a path where I believe Donald Trump is going to be our candidate on the Republican side, and I would hope the energy would transition and rather than divide us, unite us as we go into this battle at a critical stage in America’s history, and that’s the battle to make sure Obama’s failed policies don’t continue,” he said.

Reed says there’s a lot of things he and Trump are on the same page about.

“I agree with Donald Trump when it comes to getting America back in a position to grow the jobs of today and tomorrow, to start manufacturing again on American soil,” he said. “We need fair deals that are going to allow us to make sure we hold accountable countries like China for things like currency manipulation, and that’s what Donald Trump offers.”

But Reed says Republicans need to move past divisive rhetoric to defeat Democrats in the general election.