Here's a wild way for Democrats to try to stop Trump: Vote in Republican primaries
CBC
Troy Denning has made a living imagining fantastical plots as a prolific writer of science fiction with numerous Star Wars tomes under his belt.
He's now envisioning a real-life storyline about a disturbance in the electoral force, in which millions of Democrats vote in Republican primary contests in a mission to stop Donald Trump.
Denning is himself grappling with whether to drift to the other side. To join a rebel alliance, if you will, with non-Trump Republicans to help one of the other candidates win the primary in his home state of Wisconsin.
"Nikki Haley is somebody I would never vote for in the general," Denning said in an interview, referring to the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor. "But if I have to end up having her as my president, I would feel a lot safer than I would if Donald Trump is my president."
Denning is a political moderate who voted decades ago for Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. He's now keen on seeing the Republicans nominate either Haley or Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey.
But his literary vocation is appropriate for this moment. The idea of stopping Trump — at this point, especially in the primaries — is beginning to resemble science-fiction.
Trump is currently enjoying the strongest polls of his career.
He is dominating the Republican primary field, where it seems hard to imagine anyone catching him. More troubling for Democrats, he's performing much better against President Joe Biden in general-election surveys than at any point of the 2020 cycle.
It just so happens that a more palatable alternative may be emerging for those Democrats desperately seeking ways to block him early on.
Haley, the former UN ambassador and governor, has leapfrogged past Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire primary polling and is closing in on second place in surveys of Republicans nationally and in Iowa.
The idea of non-Republicans rallying around her got a high-profile boost this week from the business world.
"Even if you're a very liberal Democrat, I urge you, help Nikki Haley," said Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, at a New York Times event.
"Get a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump."
It sounds far-fetched. Haley lags about two dozen points behind Trump in New Hampshire surveys, is further behind nationally, and is no rival to Trump when it comes to the hearts of the party grassroots.
