The Wall Street Journal editorial board, representing the more moderate wing of the Republican Party, is warning GOP voters against the “temptation” of putting up a third-party candidate in the event that Donald Trump becomes their nominee.
“[I]f Mr. Trump is the electoral disaster that many Republicans fear, the first priority to minimize the damage is to preserve the GOP House majority,” said the Journal on Monday night. “Assuming the Senate majority goes and the Supreme Court too, the House would be the only check on a return to the progressive excesses of 2009-2010. That priority alone is enough to resist the GOP’s third-party temptation.”
The Journal reasoned that a third-party candidate would effectively split GOP and conservative-minded voters and ensure a White House win for the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. It might also depress voter turnout in a way that would cost Republicans seats in Congress.
“The GOP would have a hard enough time recovering from a third-straight presidential loss,” the paper said. “The last thing the party needs is an excuse for Mr. Trump and his allies to blame a defeat on a ‘stab in the back’ by other Republicans. That’s a recipe for more civil war and another fiasco in 2020.”
