By now, almost 1 million Republicans have expressed an opinion on who should be the Party’s nominee for President. But on Saturday it will be the people of Florida who really shape the future of the race. Miami-Dade alone has more than 300,000 registered Republicans -- the state’s largest single block of votes. It is possible for a candidate to lose Miami-Dade and still win Florida, but it’s not easy.

To hear the chatter in the news, in the blogs, and on facebook it is easy to think the Republican nomination is a battle between the “Establishment” of the Republican Party and its socially conservative, Tea Party “base.” Unfortunately such reporting does more to sell news than to inform voters. It is overly simplistic and misses the deeper process of change still working its way through the GOP. Younger Republicans are more fiscally conservative and less socially conservative than their older peers. Wealthy Republicans are concerned about tax policies as much as wealthy Democrats are (and they all choose their preferred nominee on the basis of other factors). Views on national defense are increasingly diverse with some Republican voters openly wishing for less military interventionism and even advocating for cuts in military spending.

There is no “Establishment” and there is no “base.” There are millions of distinct Republican voters who will each make the choice he, or she, thinks best for the future of the country. Each will consider the positions on the issues as expressed by the candidates. Each will consider other factors. Then each of them will vote. The outcome of the Primary will tell us something about the Republicans voting in that election, but it cannot tell the whole story about the Republican Party. And certainly it cannot tell us the whole story about every single Republican.

As an openly gay member of Miami-Dade’s Republican Committee, I recognize both the personal challenges and opportunities that come with my role. Among my challenges is keeping other fair-minded Republicans from abandoning the Party to those elements whose political survival depends solely on us leaving. Now is not the time to lament the GOP’s policies towards the LGBT community by abstaining. It is, instead, our opportunity to choose the candidate who will be least likely to yield to religious bigotry against LGBT equality.

It would be nice if the choice were easier. Someday it will be. But until then, we need to each of us make it a priority to continue to engage the Republican Party, to force it to change, and to make sure we never surrender it to those who are happy to use it against us. At the very least we must vote.

Brian Gaither is a supporting contributor to SAVE Dade. He is also the Victory 2012 Chair for the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County and a member of the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami.

The opinions represented here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of SAVE Dade