Not Donald Trump: 20% of the 331 current Republican governors, Senators and House members have renounced their party’s nominee -- and the number is growing. (Time screen shot)
Many Republican leaders are not voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, so for whom do they vote on Nov. 8?
Thursday’s announcement by former Republican Party leader Michael Steele that he will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton is just the latest news leaving too many supporters of the Republican Party in limbo about what to do in the 2016 Presidential election.
As of Oct. 13, which was before the third presidential debate between Trump and Clinton, the Time reported that “nearly 20% of the 331 current Republican governors, Senators and House members have renounced their party’s nominee.”
While the number of current or former Republican leaders opposing Trump is growing, very few are sharing for whom they will vote:
Virginia Representative Scott Rigell, who is retiring at the end of his term, was the first U.S. Congressman to state that he will not vote for Trump or Clinton, but that he is “going to vote for the Libertarian candidate” Gary Johnson.
Republican Illinois Senator Mark Kirk said on Aug. 10 that he intends to write in former Secretary of State Colin Powell when he casts his vote for president in November. Kirk told CNN that he would not vote for Trump because he was “too racist and too bigoted for the land of Lincoln.”
Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler told The Columbian that “For months I’ve left the door open for Donald Trump to earn my vote. That door has now slammed shut.” Beutler said, “She will write in a vote for Paul Ryan.”
‘Mike Pence for President’
According to a list provided by USA Today, the number one choice of alternative to Donald Trump among Republican leaders is Mike Pence.
New Jersey Rep. Frank LoBiondo is quite representative in his statement about what he will do on Nov. 8. “I cannot support and will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States. I will write in Governor Mike Pence for President.”
Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz stated that he could “no longer in good conscience endorse” Trump for president. Chaffetz wished Mike Pence “was at the top of the ticket.”
Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo also consider Mike Pence to be a much better choice. “Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him,” Comstock wrote on Twitter. “I cannot in good conscience vote for Trump.”
“Make no mistake – we need conservative leadership in the White House,” wrote Crapo in his Twitter statement. “I urge Donald Trump to step aside and allow the Republican Party to put forward a conservative candidate like Mike Pence who can defeat Hillary Clinton.”
John Thune of South Dakota, the third-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, tweeted on Saturday that “Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.”
How Mike Pence could become president
According to an Oct. 8 Washington Post report, “Many [Republicans] said they would like to hand the ticket over to Pence, but experts said it would be almost impossible logistically for the party to replace its nominee a month from the election.”
With only a few days until Nov. 8 and many people already voting, there is only one option left for the Republican Party – convince the 538 members of the Electoral College not to vote for Donald Trump.
In contrast to the popular vote happening on Nov. 8, the Electoral College does not gather until December 19 to cast their ballots for president and vice president.
According to Edward Foley, director of election law at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, Republicans could try to convince the electors to turn their back on Trump and vote for Pence or someone else.
Even though electors are supposed to comply with the wishes of the popular vote, it is actually unclear whether there would be any legal ramifications:
“While many electors are bound by state law to vote for the candidate selected by the popular vote on Nov. 8, there is precedent for ‘faithless’ electors who have bucked that requirement,” stated Foley. “And it is unclear what legal remedies there would be to force them to comply” with the popular vote.
“While many electors are bound by state law to vote for the candidate selected by the popular vote on Nov. 8, there is precedent for ‘faithless’ electors who have bucked that requirement,” stated Foley. “And it is unclear what legal remedies there would be to force them to comply” with the popular vote.
“The Supreme Court has never settled the question of what happens if the electors vote on Dec.19 contrary to what the state vote assumes they will,” Foley added. “What really matters is what gets sent to Congress on Jan. 6.”
Since Donald Trump is not going to withdraw, the majority of Republican leaders who are not supporting Trump or Clinton stated that they intend to write in Mike Pence’s name on Nov. 8.
For anyone not wanting to vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, the idea might not be as absurd as it sounds.
After all, it might give electors the justification they need not having to vote for Donald Trump in December.
