A Republican businesswoman who has called Donald Trump a ‘racist, misogynist, flip-flopper’ will not get a chance to vote against him this summer at the Republican National Convention. D.C. GOP leaders voted not to certify the election of Rina Shah Bharara as a convention delegate after a party investigation found she lives in Virginia, not the District — a violation of party rules.
Bharara runs a business in D.C. The investigation was launched after Breitbart.com, a conservative media outlet and one of the earliest chroniclers of Trump’s longshot bid for the presidency, sleuthed Bharara’s property records and her Instagram account, finding pictures of her home in Virginia. Bharara had become a lightning rod for conservative commentators last month after she said in an appearance on Fox News that she would consider voting for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump should the New York billionaire become the party’s nominee. Bharara did not immediately return a phone call or an email message seeking comment.
Bharara is the founder of a political consultancy, Rilax Strategies, that operates out of a Navy Yard condominium. She campaigned for a spot as a RNC delegate with a sign at the party’s March convention that read “Vote for a Daughter of Immigrants — Rina Shah — New Mother, Millennial, Entrepreneur, DC Resident of 10+ years.” Two party officials with knowledge of the issue said a Trump supporter lodged a complaint about Bharara’s residency.
The GOP’s executive committee voted by a margin of 3 to 1 to oust her after reviewing property records that showed she lives in the area of Reston, Va., about 20 miles outside the District. The committee also reviewed records that her business address in the District is owned by her father, said the two, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe party actions. In a statement, Patrick Mara, executive director of the D.C. Republican Party, said party leaders recommended against allowing Bharara to keep her title as delegate “based on evidence that she is not a resident of the District of Columbia.” With Trump looking for a win in Indiana’s Republican primary on Tuesday, he could be within striking distance of the party’s nomination, diminishing the role of anti-Trump delegates like Bharara.
A delegate for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who won the D.C. primary in March, Bharara had lamented the loss of her candidate on Twitter and other social media, saying after his withdrawal from the race that she felt “sucker punched.” By the middle of last month, however, Bharara had vowed to use her vote to try to stop Trump. She was touted by the Never Trump movement, appeared on national radio and television broadcasts and began fiercely criticizing Trump’s comments on immigrants and women. “.@realDonaldTrump is not a real Republican. So, he’ll never get my vote.
He is a racist, misogynist flip-flopper. Wake up #USA! #NeverTrump,” Bharara said in a Twitter message. In another post Bharara wrote: “@ GOPconvention, I’ll do right 4 GOP voters of #WashingtonDC. I’m w/Rubio 1st ballot & want 2 elect some1 who CAN beat Hillary. Trump cannot.” Breitbart, which reported Bharara’s ouster last week, citing Trump supporters, published emails showing what may be an effort by the D.C. GOP to rally around Trump if he gets close to the threshold of delegates to be the nominee.
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