(Springfield, MA – 2/28/16) London Lucia, left, who says her grandmother is a cousin of Donald Trump, cheers during a rally for the presidential candidate outside Springfield City Hall, Sunday, February 28, 2016. Staff photo by Angela Rowlings.
Wow.
Via Boston Herald, HT Jake Tapper.
Nearly 20,000 Bay State Democrats have fled the party this winter, with thousands doing so to join the Republican ranks, according to the state’s top elections official.
Secretary of State William Galvin said more than 16,300 Democrats have shed their party affiliation and become independent voters since Jan. 1, while nearly 3,500 more shifted to the MassGOP ahead of tomorrow’s “Super Tuesday” presidential primary.
Galvin called both “significant” changes that dwarf similar shifts ahead of other primary votes, including in 2000, when some Democrats flocked from the party in order to cast a vote for Sen. John McCain in the GOP primary.
The primary reason? Galvin said his “guess” is simple: “The Trump phenomenon,” a reference to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who polls show enjoying a massive lead over rivals Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and others among Massachusetts Republican voters.
“The tenor of the Republican campaign has been completely different from what we’ve seen in prior Republican presidential campaigns,” Galvin said. “You have to look no farther than the viewership for some of the televised debates.
“The New York Times referred to the campaign as crude; I suppose that’s fair,” added Galvin, a Democrat. “The fact of the matter is the tenor has been very different this time. And that has an effect. People are interested. It’s exciting.”
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Does that count of 3500 voters who have switched from Democrat to Republican include Donald Trump?
LOL! Good one!
I hope that these voters aren’t switching because they want to undermine the legitimate primary process by voting for someone they think can be defeated in the general election.
I will not vote for Trump. It is a road I will not travel. #nevertrump
If I do, it will be because there is at least some chance he is crazy enough to resign and say the whole thing was a joke as soon as he is elected, unlike Hillary.
Was easy for the Mass. Democrats to blame Martha Coakley and not themselves though any sane person would have said, losing Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat can’t be blamed on one person. Lose Governor’s race. Blame Coakley again. Partially correct. Will they blame Coakley a third time? Probably. Look at how the GOPe keeps going back to amnesty. Mass. Democrat voters weren’t listened to. Don’t think that means they’re joining GOP to help anti-Trump movement.
Good column on former Health Care CEO, now Mass. Republican Governor Charlie Baker (I always want to call him Baker Charlie) is trying to get establishment Republicans elected to State Party positions. Column calls them the “…managerial conservatism espoused by people who are not anti politics, work with Democrats…”
http://www.stonehill.edu/news-media/in-the-news/details/baker-seeks-to-insulate-the-massachusetts-gop-from-the-trump-wing-of-the-republican-party/
I think immigration is a big issue for these voters. Remember Obama was flying illegal immigrants into Mass. and Gov. Deval said he knew nothing about it. In the 1970s, Mass. (Boston) had big busing protests. The forced illegal immigrants can’t be going over well. BTW, there’s a recent ‘study’ by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that says legalization will bring in millions of dollars in new tax revenue. HA!