Report: Trump Gives Up On Forming Third-Party Alternative To GOP – By ALLAHPUNDIT (Hot Air) / January 25, 2021
No, actually, it was a terrible idea. Trump can do at least as much damage to establishment Republicans backing primary challengers as he could organizing a third party. Let’s say he got “the Patriot Party” off the ground, hired people to make sure it was on the ballot in all 50 states, and then fielded a slew of candidates in House and Senate races. Let’s further say that 25 percent of Republican Party voters *initially* decided to support the Patriot Party candidate over the Republican alternative. As Election Day got closer, negative partisanship would begin to gnaw at those voters and they’d start thinking strategically: “If I vote for Trump’s candidate, the right-wing vote will split and the Democrat will win.” Eventually a meaningful number of Trump supporters would decide to vote GOP anyway in the interest of stopping the left.
But not all would. I’m sure the Patriot Party would succeed in tanking Republicans’ chances in a slew of races. What kind of headlines would that deliver for Trump the next day, though? “DEMS WIN HISTORIC SWEEP, ENABLED BY TRUMP SPOILERS.” Or “TRUMP PARTY TAKES JUST 10% OF VOTE.”
Is that the kind of return Trump wants for his time and money? Ten percent of the vote and no actual victories?
