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I think it's kind of stupid to vote for someone you don't want to win (the example given for die-hard Democrats to vote for an Ultra-MAGA candidate in an effort to help a Democrat win). Like someone else said, it could backfire. Besides, if you are that political wouldn't you want to vote in your own party for the person you really support so that person wins?
For full disclosure, I am an independent. I always vote in the primary of the party not in the White House. So for example, in 2020, I voted in the Democratic Primary since Trump was in the White House. In 2024, I will vote in the Republican primary because Biden is in the White House. If there happens to be a candidate I really like in a year when both parties have primaries, I vote for the person I like the most, no matter what party he or she is in.
I used to live in an open primary state, but I moved and now I have to switch parties. I had to do that 20 years ago when I lived in another state. I just vote in the primary and then switch parties about a month after the general election so I can be in place for the next primary. It messes me up though in those years when both parties have presidential primaries and I am in one party, but like the candidate in another. I still vote for the people I like most in whatever party I am in though. I figure I will just have to make up for it in the general election.
But I always vote for someone I like and would want to vote for in the general election. I have this unrealistic fantasy that some day I might have a tough choice because both candidates will be people I like. But usually I don't like either and have to vote for the lesser of two evils. I wish we had ranked voting so third party candidates would be more viable.
OP, if you are in an open primary state, vote for the person you want to win--no matter what party that person is in. Don't play games with your vote. That's how we end up with horrible choices.
If a party encourages it, it is entirely inappropriate.
For individuals, sometimes there is a particular candidate you want to personally defeat. Like my spouse voted for Obama over Hillary in 2008 in the Democratic primary. We both thought Hillary would be an absolute disaster if elected.
Now if you are doing it to so they select a weaker candidate, that is just sleazy and anti-American.
I guess this throws the idea that 1 million Dems. switched party's in the dumpster.
They did it to screw around with the GOP. As was done in the recent past going the other way.
wait...you're saying the decrease in R registrations and concurrent increase in D's during Trump was just fakery?
you are missing the concept of a)open primaries b) how Independents vote in primaries c) the real action is not a mailer "hey go vote for Candidate X because it will help the D's" d) the real action is taking out advertisements literally promoting the far-out ideas of the primary opponent you consider the easiest to beat.
And the issue is NOT that any of your "loyal voters" takes exception to the tactic - they're going to vote for you anyway, though you run the risk of them being lazy and thinking "Oh, nobody will vote for THAT guy, I'll just go get a double soy latte instead of voting".
It's also the issue of "You're going to try THAT?" and energizing either the other side in the primary or that energy carrying over to the general.
In many cases it isn't so much the Democratic Party, but rather PAC's that tend to be liberal and typically support Democratic candidates. I know an argument can be made that they can be one and the same (and the same for the Republican Party and conservative PAC's), but it is a distinction nonetheless that this spending is generally being done by liberal PAC groups and not the DNC, DCCC or DSCC.
actually, in the case being discussed it IS the DCCC.
In my state of Georgia, voters are not registered by party, and can choose in each primary election whether we want to vote a Republican or Democratic ballot. Although I'm not planning to support Republicans in the general election this fall, I opted for the Republican primary ballot in order to vote AGAINST Trump-endorsed, conspiracy theory promoting, far right candidates - particularly for the Governor and Secretary of State offices. My perspective is that just having such nominees representing one of the country's major parties is extremely corrosive to our civic health, and I can live with the Democrats having a more challenging race against "traditional" Republicans.
Just to be realistic - Republicans are nearly guaranteed to take over the House after the midterms given low approvals of the Biden administration, and in most states and districts, the general election is a foregone conclusion since few people are willing to cross party lines these days. So it's going to make a huge difference as to which type of Republicans win the primaries, since they will likely be chairing committees and setting major agenda items the next couple years. Empowering conservatives is not on the same level as elevating civic arsonists, and there are many of the latter circulating around politics these days.
I think it's kind of stupid to vote for someone you don't want to win (the example given for die-hard Democrats to vote for an Ultra-MAGA candidate in an effort to help a Democrat win). Like someone else said, it could backfire. Besides, if you are that political wouldn't you want to vote in your own party for the person you really support so that person wins?
I got my absentee ballot and the Democratic Primary is kind of boring, there is only 1 contested race, all of the other primaries have 1 person running unopposed.
Some of the talk points out that the Democratic Primary is meaningless in this regard and then encourages people to vote in the Republican Primary where every race is contested.
I will never vote Democrat for anything... but I DID vote in the Democrat primary (Texas) in 2016 to cast my 'anybody but Hillary' vote. Didn't help since she got the nomination anyway, but I felt better taking my shot.
Downside to doing that was just a helluva lot of Democrat spam texts and phone calls for the next several years.
I think it is hypocritical for Democrats to bemoan how the Republican Party has been taken over by extremists, and then turn around and help one of the extremists try to defeat one of the few GOP moderates left.
I'm a Democrat, but I have often voted for moderate incumbent Republicans in the general election, and have never crossed over to vote in the other party's primary.
Now the Democrat National Committee is spending 2 million dollars to influence the Republican Primary for Governor here in Michigan. Democrats already got James Craig removed from the Republican Primary ballot because the company he hired messed up signatures, now the DNC is running ads against Tudor Dixon and in favor of someone they call a January 6 insurrectionist. The attack ad says that Tudor Dixon wants to defund the police, isn't even accurate as the police have endorsed her.
If you aren't familiar with Michigan, the Republican Candidate Ryan Kelley is extreme and was at the January 6 riot playing a role. Why on earth are Democrats helping this crazy man while at the same time saying January 6 was as bad as anything in US history??? Why cross party lines to support him over a more reasonable Tudor Dixon?
I am sure Republicans have done this in the past, but this seems really very bad. I like Whitmer and will still vote for her, but I don't like this constant meddling to push out Republican moderates while at the same time demonizing them for not being moderate.
I think moderates would be good for the country even if it is bad for the Democratic National Committee.
All they have is messaging on moderation because there is no moderation in the current Democrat Party.
Quote:
Originally Posted by QuakerBaker
I am sure both parties have done it, but I wanted thoughts on this: is it okay to interfere in the other party's primary.
(1) Encouraging cross party voting from different states for non-MAGA candidates.
I got a flier today asking me to vote in the Republican Primary and telling me that Democrats can vote in Republican Primaries. How do they know I belong to what party? I am only 21 so I don't have a history with either party really, but I voted in the 2020 Democratic Primary, is that why, can they see this?
The flier came from an Illinois address even though the organization has "Michigan" in their name on the flier. I know this because the flier has their return P.O. Box listed as being in Ottawa, Illinois and the Postage Paid label on the flier says New Lenox, Illinois.
This group says that they are non-partisan, but I found their website and they only talk of "Flood the Republican Primary Election with Non-Traditional Voters" and the specific policies they support seem more Democrat than Republican orientated. They do not mention a single extreme Democrat that needs to be voted out. All in one direction plus their policies seems a bit...Democrat.
They do have some good messages about moderation, they sincerely do, I am just wondering on people's thoughts here on advocating for Democrats to "flood" Republican primaries.
(2) Democrats and their organizations are pouring money into extreme candidates that they label "ultra-MAGA" in an effort to make the Republicans look worse when extreme candidates win primaries and then give the Democrats an easier path to win the general election.
However, funding ads that praise the positives of extreme candidates makes them more personable, helping them get their ideas out there only amplifies their ideas.
Is this wrong to push the other party to extremes because moderate candidates is bad for business? Is this smart strategy? Is this simply democracy in action under the system we have? Is it dishonest?
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