Will the #NeverTrump movement back Clinton should Trump get the nod?

[CatoMinor]

I want to say they all leave in droves to the Libertarian Party or some independent bid, but I'm sure President McCain can remind how well that "PUMA" movement went.

[Mr. Morden]

I want to say they all leave in droves to the Libertarian Party or some independent bid, but I'm sure President McCain can remind how well that "PUMA" movement went.

Yes, though again, there's a difference between ordinary voters and the elites.  How many Democratic governors or members of Congress were PUMAs?  Or prominent left-of-center opinion-makers?  The defection from Trump at the elite level is not something that we've seen before.  And there are still plenty of Republican politicians who've so far refused to say whether they'd back Trump or not, so we could still be getting more.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As far as actual defections of office holders, practically none will publicly back Clinton, tho quite a few will be silent about supporting TRUMP. Rank and file voters (as well as office holders in the secrecy of the polling booth) are more likely to do both, and I don't think the "new" voters TRUMP has mobilized will help him or the GOP in November.

While I think TRUMP has been reasonably effective in mobilizing voters who would normally ignore the primaries to vote for him in them, I'm doubtful he's been bringing in many totally new voters so he won't be adding general election voters.. Still, has there been any polling that would confirm or refute my gut feeling?

[Ljube]

Remember the PUMAs? Well, they all voted for Obama.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Would an anti-establishment candidate do well? Yeah, sure. But this is the sole opportunity for _trumpism.

No.

In 2020, the citizens of the USA will have had 12 years of the democratic spendathon.

The national debt will be $36 Trillion and the USA would have defaulted on its repayments to China and Japan.

The need for a politician with some modicum of fiscal responsibility will be greater.

please learn economic, k thanks

Also, yeah, there might be some Lieberman style defector, but it's very doubtful. (Plus I don't think the Hillary campaign would really want a Republican on her side - it's probably going to be a scorched earth anti-GOP negative campaign)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Remember the PUMAs? Well, they all voted for Obama.

Ironically HillaryIs44 is now a Trump site.

[SingingAnalyst]

I would say if people are serious enough against Trump to basically pledge not to vote for him, they will vote for his opponent (Clinton), however reluctantly.

[SATW]

I will not support Trump in a general. I will still vote straight ticket for down ballot races, but I will vote Libertarian for President (assuming its Petersen or Johnson)

[Leinad]

I was giving a hypothetical, maybe I should have stated that more clearly.

Understood--when I said "you" I meant people who thought that #NeverTrump-ers would back Clinton, not specifically you yourself.

Mr. Morden's right that there's a distinction between ordinary voters and high-profile people. It would be fascinating to see who the latter goes for. Some would probably swallow the pill of lost credibility and back Trump, others would jump ship for a third party, while others still would probably do some silly write-in or try a "mainstream" independent candidate (e.g. "#DraftRomney" could be a thing this summer).

As much as I think a Trump-Clinton election would be terrible for the country, it would also probably lead to the best year for the Libertarian Party ever, and a chance for the Republitarians to take a much larger share of the Republican Party as it re-organizes post-Trump. And no, that's not me being selfish, because I think that a stronger libertarian movement is better for the country in the long-term.