By Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A former Texas judge who served on the state's highest criminal court has denounced President Donald Trump in announcing her decision to leave the Republican party.

The Austin American-Statesman reports retired Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala announced her decision on Facebook. Alcala said in the Facebook post that even accepting that Trump has had some successes, "at his core, his ideology is racism."

Alcala added that she can no longer support the GOP and will be voting in the 2020 Democratic primary.

She was appointed to the court by Gov. Rick Perry in 2011 and spent 20 years as a GOP judge.

Alcala's announcement follows Trump's tweets that four Democratic freshmen should "go back" to their home countries_though all are citizens and three were born in the United States.

Information from The Austin American-Statesman: https://www.statesman.com/

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