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democrattotheend

(11,605 posts)
Tue Mar 15, 2016, 05:14 PM Mar 2016

Forget Favorite Candidates, Some People Voting Strategically

Kennedy Copeland is a Marco Rubio fan who voted for John Kasich in Ohio. Ann Croft is all in for Hillary Clinton but cast her ballot for Rubio in Virginia. Julia Price will back the Democratic nominee in November but voted for Kasich in Tennessee.

Are these voters confused? No, they're voting strategically in the year of Donald Trump in hopes of altering the outcome of the presidential race by casting ballots for someone other than their favorite candidate.

Democrat Croft, for example, figured Clinton didn't need her help to win Virginia. So she decided to vote instead against Trump in the Republican primary because some of her GOP friends were worried he would win the state. "I was feeling almost sort of dirty about doing it," she recalled. But then Croft talked to a friend who had done exactly the same thing, which made her feel better.

In other cases, Democrats are crossing over to do just the opposite: voting for Trump, on the thinking he'd be the weakest candidate to face the eventual Democratic nominee.


The whole article was about strategic voting within the Republican primary or by Democrats in the Republican primary. Oddly, I don't believe the article mentioned anyone crossing over to vote strategically in the Democratic primary, which is why I figured this was safe to post in GD.
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Forget Favorite Candidates, Some People Voting Strategically (Original Post) democrattotheend Mar 2016 OP
It's like people who are jurors in a high profile court case . orpupilofnature57 Mar 2016 #1
I don't think voting strategically works. HooptieWagon Mar 2016 #2
Ultimately you want your candidate to win, so why would you not vote for them? NightWatcher Mar 2016 #3
I think it's a fear-driven mentality if you don't vote for your candidate. nt thereismore Mar 2016 #4
 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
2. I don't think voting strategically works.
Tue Mar 15, 2016, 05:18 PM
Mar 2016

I believe most of the time it backfires, and you didn't vote for your candidate.

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)
3. Ultimately you want your candidate to win, so why would you not vote for them?
Tue Mar 15, 2016, 05:23 PM
Mar 2016

Don't overthink the whole "enemy of my enemy is a ...."

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