'Whole swath' of Republicans and independents will 'never' vote for Trump: 'I absolutely hate' him

23 January 2024

In 2020, a long list of well-known conservatives endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, including former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), GOP activist Cindy McCain, attorney George Conway and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. And four years later, with Donald Trump seemingly on track to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Biden's reelection campaign is hoping that anti-Trump conservatives will again be part of his coalition.

Politico reporters Sam Stein and Natalie Allison, in an article published on January 23, take a look at Republicans and independents who are refusing to vote for Trump if he becomes the nominee.

"Donald Trump has a problem no matter what happens in New Hampshire on Tuesday night: There's a whole swath of the Republican electorate and a good chunk of independents who appear firmly committed to not voting for him in November if he becomes the nominee," Stein and Allison explain. "It's an issue that became starkly apparent in polling ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, when an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of voters in that state found that fully 43 percent of Nikki Haley supporters said they would back President Joe Biden over Trump. And it's a dynamic that has been on vivid display as the campaign shifted this week to New Hampshire."

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Scott Simeone, an independent New Hampshire voter who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, told Politico, "I can't vote for Trump. He's a crook. He's too corrupt. I voted for him, and I didn't realize he’s as corrupt as he is."

Another New Hampshire voter, Lisa Tracy, told Politico she "would go with Biden" if Trump is the nominee.

Tracy said of Trump, "I liked him, but he just scares me now. Everybody that has ever worked for him is not anymore."

Some of the New Hampshire residents Politico interviewed would be open to voting for Haley over Biden in the general election but are adamantly anti-Trump.

Curtis Thornbrugh, an 81-year-old independent, told Politico he voted for Barry Goldwater in 1964, Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, but supported Biden in 2020.

Thornbrugh said he would consider Haley but said of Trump, "I can't find anything good to say, and I try. He's dangerous, and the people around him are too."

Similarly, 79-year-old Forbes Farmer, another independent, would consider voting for Haley over Biden in November but said of Trump, "No, never. I absolutely hate Trump.”

Read Politico's full report at this link.

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