While 58 percent of Hillsdale students believe that GOP front-runner Donald Trump will be selected as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee, only 35 percent say they plan to vote for him in the November general elections.
Out of more than 300 students who participated in a Collegian poll conducted this week, 25 percent plan to vote for a different party’s candidate, while 14 percent will write in another candidate rather than vote for Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee.
Eighteen percent of poll respondents said they are not sure how they will vote in November, and eight percent plan not to vote in November if Trump becomes the Republican nominee.
“If Trump is the nominee, I will support a third party conservative candidacy,” sophomore American Studies major Michael Lucchese said. “I believe Donald Trump is unfit for the Presidency, and I morally cannot vote for him. Ultimately, each voter has to look themselves in the mirror the next day. Don’t do something you find dishonorable.”
While many consider a Trump presidency as something to be avoided, some said they will cast their ballots for the billionaire to prevent a Democrat from taking the White House.
“If Donald Trump becomes the GOP nominee, I will use my one vote for him and use my feet to solicit more,” senior politics major Christy Allen said, who added that the Supreme Court seats the next president will fill are one of her chief concerns.
“Trump’s suggestions for who he would pick to fill spots are just fine,” Allen said. “Democrats will assuredly nominate liberal ideological radicals if given the chance. Trump is not my ideal candidate, but I care too much about those SCOTUS seats to even consider not supporting him as the nominee.”
Others say they will support Trump for the sake of the Republican party.
“As the current president of the Hillsdale College Republicans, I, along with our chapter as a whole, have the obligation to support the GOP nominee as a branch of the Republican Party,” College Republicans President Brant Cohen said. “If Donald Trump wins the nomination, I have not decided whether I will personally fully support his candidacy or not. I will most likely support Donald Trump if he wins the nomination but more as a means to prevent the Democratic candidate.”
Trump is the widely-recognized front-runner for the GOP nomination. Of the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination outright, Trump has won 736. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has won 463, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 143.
The next major Republican primary is in Wisconsin on April 5. New York will follow on April 19. Voters in Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island will cast their ballots on April 26.