Some Democrats Choosing to Vote For Republicans In Certain Races Just to Keep MAGA Candidates Out of Office

The Associated Press analyzed early voting records from data firm L2 which found that more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgia’s Democratic primary two years ago also cast ballots in last week’s state 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 Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidates for secretary of state and, to a lesser extent, governor.

Crossover voting, also known as strategic voting, is not exclusive to Georgia this primary season as voters across the political spectrum work to stop Trump-backed extremists from winning control of state and federal governments. The phenomenon is playing out in multiple primary contests, sometimes organically and sometimes in response to a coordinated effort by Trump’s opponents.

Trump himself railed against the practice over the weekend, but there is nothing inherently wrong with crossover voting. Dozens of states make it legal and easy for voters to participate in either party’s primary. And there are several isolated incidents of both parties engaging in strategic voting over the years. But Trump warned his supporters about crossover voting while campaigning Saturday in Wyoming, another state where his opponents are calling for Democrats to intervene, this time to help save Rep. Liz Cheney from a Trump-backed primary challenger. Cheney, like Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp, refused to embrace Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. She also voted for his second impeachment after the January 6th insurrection. As a result, Trump has actively campaigned against all three candidates, but has so far mostly failed in his attempts.

Analysis of early voting records in Georgia found that 37,144 people who cast ballots in Democratic primaries in 2020 voted in last week’s #Republican primary. While so-called crossover #voting is nothing new, this is an unusually high number. Read more >> https://t.co/PNM3exjdsq pic.twitter.com/fJ2emav0NG

— OZY (@ozy) May 31, 2022

Another of Trump’s detractors in Congress is Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who 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.

It worked @COUNTRY_F1RST! https://t.co/KFz5z4Ij4g

— Adam Kinzinger🇺🇦🇺🇸✌️ (@AdamKinzinger) May 31, 2022