Democrats made a big push for a surprising group of voters at their national convention in Philadelphia: Republicans who are unhappy Donald Trump is their nominee.
Former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Doug Elmets told the crowd that the 2016 GOP platform was the most alarming he’d ever seen and that Trump is “no Ronald Reagan.” Republican Women for Hillary co-founder Meghan Milloy explained to Democrats why she, as a lifelong Republican, couldn’t support this year’s GOP nominee.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine even told disaffected Republicans, “If you’re looking for that party of Lincoln, we’ve got a home for you right here in the Democratic Party.” But will this be a good strategy for Democrats in November?
“If Democrats can convince disgruntled Republicans to come out to the polls, this could actually harm Democrats,” Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report editor Nathan Gonzales told the Washington Examiner.
“If there is a Never Trump voter thinking about sitting out of the election, but allowing Donald Trump to win the election is not acceptable, I think they’ll still be inclined to vote Republican in House and Senate races. It’ll be difficult to convince them to vote Democratic down the ballot too.”
The Democrats’ push to win independents and moderate Republicans could offend the party’s progressive wing. At the convention in Philadelphia, hundreds of “Bernie-or-bust” delegates staged sit-ins, protests and even “fart-ins” to object Clinton’s less liberal policies and the Democratic leadership’s perceived bias against Bernie Sanders.
“It all depends on how the effort is being undertaken,” former Draft Biden bundler and current Keep America Great PAC Chairman Jon Cooper said of the Left’s efforts to reach out to Republican voters. “But the vast majority of progressives would welcome any Republican who wants to stop Donald Trump.”
Pointing specifically to swing-state races, these disgruntled Republicans could make all the difference. Following both party conventions, Clinton leads Trump 45-37, while a pre-convention survey showed her trailing Trump 39-44.
“For better or for worse, the Trump phenomenon in uniquely about Donald Trump,” former RNC communications director Doug Heye told the Washington Examiner. “While it may have a bad impact on Republican incumbents, it’s going to be very unlikely to convince a Republican concerned about Trump to vote for a Democrat in Congress.”
