Would you vote as a Republican if another Republican challenges Trump in the primary?
Asked by
JLeslie (
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January 9th, 2019
from iPhone
This Q is aimed towards Democrats and other liberal voters.
I have always rejected the idea of voting in the other party to sabotage the election.
Typically, it is done to help a candidate win the primary who is thought to have a very low chance of winning in the end. Regarding Trump, it would be to knock him out of the running even knowing the other Republican might win.
Of course, this hinges on another serious Republican candidate running.
Could you do it? Would you pass up voting for your favorite Democrat to vote against Trump in the primary?
Lastly, do you think Trump would run as an independent if he lost in the primary?
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23 Answers
Depends who it would be. Pence, no way. He’s a religious zealot. Give me a reasonably sane forward-thinking republican (are there any left?) and I might consider it.
I don’t think that there are any republicans who have the balls to run against Trump in the republican primaries.
No, it does not seem right. I would also prefer to choose a candidate in the Democratic primary.
Completely asinine. I much prefer fighting for the values I believe in, instead of hoping for a slightly less terrible Republican.
I’m a registered Democrat so I couldn’t vote in the Republican primary. What a strange question.
@janbb – in Georgia, even if I am a registered democrat (which I am), on primary day I can ask for a republican ballot. Sort of a strange vestigial law.
No, as @Janbb said, I’m a registered Democrat and have to vote Democrat (or not at all) in the primary.
At the general election, I will vote for the best candidate regardless of party affiliation. And that will NOT be Trump.
It’s a tactic that I’ve heard people talk about before. I’ve never been in favor of it previously, because I’ve always thought it’s more important to vote for the person you really want in the primary.
However, so many people are so horrified by Trump, I thought maybe en masse people might try to make sure he didn’t win the primary.
You have to switch parties obviously if you are in a closed primary state.
It’s hard for me to believe people haven’t heard of this type of idea before to throw off elections.
@JLeslie The last time I tried that was voting for John Anderson in 1980. It didn’t work. We ended up with eight years of very high interest rates, voodoo economics, made up wars, and government by astrology.
@zenvelo I’m not recommending it, I’m just curious if anyone is considering it.
A very good friend of mine is a Trump supporter and even she is getting tired of his stupidity. So hopefully the Republicans will take care of this themselves.
After all, Trump was once a Democrat. The fact that the Republican Party embraces the fool should be all a rational individual requires to gauge the viability of the party overall. I consistently vote for Democrats not because I am enamored with the party’s effectiveness. It’s strictly a matter of the lesser of 2 evils.
@JLeslie You’re right; I have heard of such a thing. It just seems quite convoluted to me but I do kind of understand the motivation.
Sure, if said Republican had the following qualities:
Pro-choice
Pro-LGBT
Pro-green new deal
Not interested in supporting Israel
Supports universal healthcare
Does not favor the 1%
Knows trickle down economics doesn’t work
Absolutely. In fact I plan on changing my registration to Republican so I can do exactly that in the primaries.
@Caravanfan Have you heard anyone else discussing it? I haven’t heard the topic come up yet regarding the next presidential election, but I know people who have talked about regarding past elections.
No idea. I can only speak for myself. I made this decision the day he was elected.
Absolutely not. The best way to defeat Trump in 2020 is with a strong progressive Democratic candidate. The most important race will be the Democratic primary because it will determine whether the next generation has a future, if our democracy will forever remain bought-and-paid-for by the elite, if global climate change will decimate our planet, and economy, etc.
The differences between Trump and someone like Pelosi are much smaller than those between Pelosi and Bernie Sanders. With climate change in particular we’re up against a doomsday clock and the strategy of “make things worse” and “make things worse more slowly” are fundamentally in the same category. We need leadership that will take on climate change in an extreme way. That means a green new deal, millions of jobs, progressive taxation, and a transition away from carbon like our lives depend on it (they do).
If we get a corporate tool like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Biden or a Republican-lite like Beto O’Rourke the country would probably be better off with 4 more years of Trump and the chance at a 2024 progressive Democrat than 4–8 years of Republican-lite leadership. I’ll vote for Jill Stein again in 2020 if those are my choices and I’m not alone. I said back in 2016 that Hillary would loose the rust belt and that’s exactly what happened. I’m warning you now that if you don’t support an actual, strong progressive in 2020, you’re helping Trump.
I have in the past. But this current batch of Republicans put their heads up their asses when Obama was elected, and until they pull them out I will continue to boycott that entire party. At this point I’d I won’t even take a chance on it.
Voting should be a serious and positive event. Vote for the candidate you feel is best…
not as a spoiler
I voted for Biden as a spoiler.
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