Much hay is being made of the fact that Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger and Governor Kemp defeated Trump-backed candidates in the recent Republican primaries. The argument the media's making is that the results prove Trump is something of a spent force.

But that's not strictly true - particularly of Georgia Democrats who voted in the Republican primary to defeat "election-deniers".

quote:

Some Democrats Voting In GOP Primaries To Block Trump
AP, Steve Peoples and Aaron Kessler, 5/30/2022

Diane Murray struggled with her decision all the way up to Election Day. But when the time came, the 54-year-old Georgia Democrat cast a ballot in last week's Republican primary for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. While state law allowed her to participate in either party's primary, she said it felt like a violation of her core values to vote for the Republican. But it had to be done, she decided, to prevent a Donald Trump-backed "election denier" from becoming the battleground state's election chief.

"I feel strongly that our democracy is at risk, and that people who are holding up the big lie, as we call it, and holding onto the former president are dangerous to democracy," said Murray, who works at the University of Georgia. "I don't know I'll do it again because of how I felt afterward. I just felt icky."

Raffensperger, a conservative who refused to support the former president's direct calls to overturn the 2020 election, probably would not have won the May 24 Republican primary without people like Murray.

An Associated Press analysis of early voting record from data firm L2 found that more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgia's Democratic primary two years ago cast ballots in last week's Republican primary, an unusually high number of so-called crossover voters. Even taking into account the limited sample of early votes, the data reveal that crossover voters were consequential in defeating Trump's hand-picked candidates for secretary of state and, to a lesser extent, governor.

Apparently there was an attempt to do the same thing in Pennsylvania, but that failed - probably due to the requirement that primary voters be registered as members of the party in whose primary they're voting. That doesn't mean the Dems and never-Trumpers aren't openly pushing forward on this strategy. From the article:

quote:

On the forefront of the crossover movement, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., has called for an "uneasy alliance" between Democrats, independents and Republicans to take down pro-Trump candidates in GOP primaries whenever and wherever possible. Some states have open primaries like Georgia that allow people to vote in either primary, while other states have more restrictive rules.

Nor does it take much.

quote:

Kinzinger's team was also active in North Carolina's closely watched congressional race in North Carolina's 11th District, where voters ousted the polarizing pro-Trump freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary...As was the case in Georgia, the AP found a sizeable percentage of Republican early ballots were cast by voters who participated in the Democratic primary two years ago. Specifically, more than 14% of the 38,000 early or absentee votes cast in the Cawthorn race - more than 5,400 voters - came from a Democratic 2020 primary voter. Cawthorn lost his primary by fewer than 1,500 votes.

But, hey, Kinzinger's not done.

quote:

Meanwhile, Kinziger said he's already crafting plans to execute a similar playbook in coming primaries in Michigan, Wyoming [Liz Cheney - IC] and Alaska. In addition to helping Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Kinziger said he's weighing whether to invest resources in trying to block former Gov. Sarah Palin's congressional bid.

Full and unedited text at http://www.yahoo.com/news/demo...block-040823797.html

So, what to do? It's clear that Dems will be willing to do this again; they've been doing it since Mitch "Pushing Turtle" McConnell bussed in voters from predominantly Democrat churches in order to beat his last primary challenger. While we may be tempted to blow off Kinzinger just because he seems to be picking relatively weak targets, campaigns against those weak targets are the building blocks for using the same tactic successfully against stronger primary candidates.

First off, the forces of truth, beauty and the American way are going to have to engage in "turn out the vote" efforts during primary campaigns that are as aggressive and unrelenting as efforts to turn out the vote during actual elections.

Second, it's time to name and shame the hell out of any "Republican" who can't win a primary without Democrat ringers, whether the Democrats are trying to defeat candidates they don't like or smooth the path to election for candidates they do like.

Even that won't be enough, though, especially for those of us who are hoping to make 2024 count as much as possible. Anybody else got any ideas?

Dems do that in California too - and openly talk about about the strategy.

They'll vote in the primaries for the second strongest republican in hopes of ensuring only two democrats are in the November elections

I think most of us are Maga supporters America first and I would love trump to run and win but he is to toxic but he should still make the moves like he is and give cover for other candidate's I would love to see DeSantis run

Dems - the (evil) ends justify the (evil) means.

I'm not as informed and educated as many of you are. I hear occasionally the suggestion that Trump is toxic. But it's not clear to me how so.

In any case, I believe that we would be much worse off today, as bad as it is, if not for Trump. Not only for what he did, but as a catalyst for what he's inspired and encouraged others to do. Like, you don't need to be a limp dick establishment member to be successful. That MAGA is real.

Trump isn’t toxic. The media is toxic. It doesn’t matter what candidate runs in any election, the media will continue to get worse.

Remember how they treated McCain when he ran for President? Then after he loses he becomes a darling of the media. Kemp is no different. Just 4 years ago they were up in arms about him stealing the election from Abrams. Now they are voting for him in primaries and singing his praises. That’s gonna end real soon though.

In Iowa you have to register with a party to vote in primary elections. I have heard Iowa Dems discussing registering as Republicans in order to put the weaker candidate on the ballot. Dirty politics at its' worst.

lets see what happens in 2022 Biden is so disliked lol he Thaut bringing in Hispanics would give the dems the vote the Hispanics are voting republican

Same tactics were being being used in Alabama, to keep Gov. Ivey in power (maybe not so bad - except for gas tax) and Katie Britt (RINO / McConnell flunkie) in a runoff for the Senate, against Congressman Mo Brooks, who lost Trump's endorsement.

IMHO, Britt is just a pretty face, while smart, has been a "politician" since college, and "goes with the flow". Case in point, she and her husband were in support of BLM at one time (when it was popular), but scrubbed their social media before the primary election when it was pointed out. She is also a registered lobbyist. Also, she served on the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), which was heavily involved in getting the gas tax we are "enjoying" right now into place.

This primary wasn't about Trump whatsoever.

We re-elected Brian Kemp because he did a good job keeping Georgia open during the scamdemic and he reminded Mayor Keisha Rock Bottoms that she was destroying the capitol city with her shit demorrhoid policies.

The Perdue family was banking on highways running through land they own if he won.

I suspect that calling Trump "toxic" is a Dem trick. The more effective he is, the harder they push to make him look bad. Most likely he is not toxic at all.

Any politician that actually puts America first and advances a conservative agenda while promoting freedom and individual liberty is going to be called toxic.
This nonsense about Trump shouldn't run because he's decisive and toxic is the same type of bullshit that says we have to vote for moderates because conservatives can't win.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
This primary wasn't about Trump whatsoever.

We re-elected Brian Kemp because he did a good job keeping Georgia open during the scamdemic and he reminded Mayor Keisha Rock Bottoms that she was destroying the capitol city with her shit demorrhoid policies.

The Perdue family was banking on highways running through land they own if he won.

This.

Plenty of people are very happy with Brian Kemp, me included. He handled covid very well and reopened our state well before most states. For gun rights, he also signed Constitutional Carry into law recently.

The election was but one moment in his governorship and he could only do what he could do.

David Perdue is as establishment as they come.

So let me ask our Georgia members: when it comes to Georgia Republican voters, does having voted for Kemp mean they're either more or less likely to vote for Trump? I saw the difference in votes, but do those voters tend to support Raffensperger?

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
In Iowa you have to register with a party to vote in primary elections. I have heard Iowa Dems discussing registering as Republicans in order to put the weaker candidate on the ballot. Dirty politics at its' worst.

Same requirement in Texas. The Dems haven't started doing that yet (that I know of); they still seem to figure they can actually regain power in straight(ish) elections. On the border, though, where Dems automatically win elections, everyone registers as a Dem because the primary is, functionally, the election.

quote:

Originally posted by side_shot:
Hispanics are voting republican

And more so here every day.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
So let me ask our Georgia members: when it comes to Georgia Republican voters, does having voted for Kemp mean they're either more or less likely to vote for Trump? I saw the difference in votes, but do those voters tend to support Raffensperger?

If they voted for Kemp, yes, they are very likely to have voted for Trump, though I'm sure there are a whole lot of people around this country who normally vote R but did not vote for Trump in 2020. Trump, as you may recall, is an asshat and many conservatives are tired of him.

As for Raffensberger, I don't fully know. Most people don't really pay attention to who the SoS of the state is. They're not highly visible until something like 2020 happens. His re-election could have been a revolt against Trump, but it could be a lot of other things, also.

As to the original subject, crossover voters have long been here in any election where your party was out of the game and you still want to have influence. Sometimes just to screw with the other party, sometimes just to have your voice heard in the real election, the primary.

I pretty much agree with what YellowJacket and Mars are saying about the Georgia voters and candidates.
We all would vote for Trump if he ends up being on the big ticket on 11/24 and most likely did last time around. We mostly did it holding our nose due to his personality issues but liked the policy stuff.
Kemp has been a good Governor although my biggest complaint towards him is that in the original election against Abrams, he didn't resign his SOS position first, so during that election he was both a candidate and the referee of the election at the same time. Legal, maybe. Ethical, not in my book.
Shortly behind that, appointing Kelley Loefler, someone few had heard of, and a do nothing Senator once in place, was a tone deaf decision when Doug Collins was a popular choice that could have been easily elected and the most deserving of the appointed position.
Raffensberger is now in the SOS position and has done as required. That is a position mainly as a clerk, not a policymaker and not screwing up is the main job requirement. He's done what he had to do.

I'm hoping the headwinds for the Democrats are so strong in November that we regain the Senate and take the Governors office and we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot over Trump's ego.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a New York or New Jersey tag this year. They have moved here to Cherokee County by the groves and now crime has skyrocketed for some reason. The INSTANT all these new apartments sprang up they moved in. These folks OBVIOUSLY can't afford the rent here, yet here they are.

We even had a body dumped behind the local grocery store this past winter.