Ruh roh, then I'm guilty too. lol I have voted for (R) candidates for local elections in the past. I voted for the (L) guy during Clinton's second campaign. I am not registered with any party and choose ppl based on their qualifications and history. Except for that (L) guy. That was a protest vote.
That being said, I don't care how qualified or experienced an (R) candidate is; if he/she is espousing shit I don't support, they don't get my vote. That's the vast majority of them, and it's gotten worse in the last decade. We had an (R) guy running for state senator back in STL a few years ago. He had served on the local school board, had excellent credentials and a good track record in supporting education. I voted for him for the school board, and he did a decent job in that position. But when he ran for the state office, suddenly he came out in favor of allowing guns on high school and college campuses. I bet you just can't guess who donated to his campaign and bought that attitude, can you? Thankfully he was defeated. I like to think that my vote helped.
How can you start out as a decent official and then jump into the sewer with the (R)s and the NRA like that? WTF.