The Lincoln Project undoubtedly feels the loss of George Conway, [1] who’s stepping down from his position there due to family matters, but someone new has stepped up, fortunately, and is lending her voice to the project.
Jerushah Duford, a granddaughter of the late evangelical Christian leader Billy Graham has signed on with the project that aims to unseat President Donald Trump and usher in his Democratic rival Joe Biden, in 2020’s upcoming presidential election. She’s joining the Lincoln Women arm of the anti-Trump organization.
Her uncle, Franklin Graham is set to speak at the Republican National Convention, Thursday, and that’s at least one reason she decided to join the Lincoln Project, she said.
“I have not spoken to my uncle, but his voice was a large reason for my speaking out,” she told Newsweek [2] on Monday.
Honored to have met and to stand with powerful women who can no longer ignore the tug in their spirit when they look at our country. #lincolnwomen [3] https://t.co/7hmcPEN07l [4]
— jerushah duford (o | | | | o) (@jerushahruth) August 24, 2020 [5]
In an interview with Forbes earlier Monday that she’s “speaking for the woman who has always voted Republican but is not sure if they can anymore, but they’re also not sure about voting Democrat because they’ve never done it.”
“I’m speaking to the woman who feels that tug in their spirit,” she said. “We want to empathize with them that we know you feel this tug, and you feel uncomfortable voting Democrat because you never have. But at the same time, it’s okay to follow your conscience.”
On its website, [6] the organization calls for conservatives and Republicans to stop supporting Trump.
“The priority for all patriotic Americans must be a shared fidelity to the Constitution and a commitment to defeat those candidates who have abandoned their constitutional oaths, regardless of party,” the website states. “Electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not is a worthy effort.”
And despite what Trump’s done since his election in 2016, he still has plenty of support among white evangelicals. An exit poll conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that at least eight in 10 white evangelicals back him at the polls.
“I think a large portion of evangelicals, especially women, voted for Trump as the ‘lesser of two evils.’ They walked into the voting booth, held their breath and hoped they were making the right choice,” Duford said. “I think the last four years, at the very least, created concern and confusion amongst many evangelicals, and I’m hoping they will listen to that tug in their spirit this November.”
Duford said the continued support for Trump from her fellow Christians has left her feeling like a “homeless evangelical.”
“The world is watching and when church leaders hold Trump as a representative of our faith, the damage to the gospel is immense,” she said. “The world sees the hypocrisy, and the result is them wanting nothing to do with it.”
At least one other member of the Lincoln women seems to be in lockstep with Duford.
“That the Lincoln Project has stood up and is taking action, both against Trump and what the Republican Party has become, I think, is huge,” said Beth Fukumoto, a former Republican House Leader from 2014 to 2017.
Can I get an amen here?