Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:06 pm
Anti-Trump Republicans are meeting to explore options to throw their resources behind a third party candidate to cripple Trump’s campaign in states like Arizona and Utah so that Hillary Clinton wins the White House.
Robert Costa of The Washington Post reported:
For Trump, McMullin does not represent a rival nationally but is a possible threat in states such as Utah, where Trump is unpopular and McMullin could pull away votes that would traditionally go for the Republican, especially if Romney allies got behind his bid.
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And even if, as is likely, McMullin does not win a state, a strong showing in Utah, Arizona and other states with sizable Mormon populations could prevent Trump from racking up votes in the Electoral College.
Costa added in a tweet:
The realistic goal, per several ppl, wouldn't be McMullin winning a state but to steal votes from Trump and cripple his bid in AZ, UT, etc.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) August 29, 2016
A big money vote-getting operation behind Evan McMullin in a few targeted states would take away any chance that Trump has of winning in November. The Romney Republicans are out to take their party back, and prevent an extremist like Donald Trump from ever seizing power again.
It isn’t that the Romney Republicans want Hillary Clinton to be president. These individuals view Donald Trump as a danger to the country who must be stopped at all costs.
The Republicans leading this effort would rather take their chances running against Hillary Clinton in 2020 than turn the country over to Donald Trump.
Anti-Trump Republicans were never going to be able to stop the nominee with a nationwide campaign. A targeted effort in red states where Trump is weak and a third-party Republican is already on the ballot makes perfect sense.
Mitt Romney could be a major factor if he jumps into the campaign down the stretch. If Romney openly campaigns in support of McMullin, it will peel off enough Republicans to guarantee that Hillary Clinton will win the White House.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association