AS the presidential race tightens, Hillary Clinton is going to her base, trying to gin up turnout among key Democratic groups. In this election, there is no group as important as women. Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who called out Donald Trump for ridiculing her weight gain, appeared with Clinton at a rally in Florida on Tuesday. At that rally, Clinton declared, “We heard what he does to women. I’m not going to repeat it, but you know Donald Trump was bragging about grabbing women, mistreating women.” She continued, “The bottom line is he thinks belittling women makes him a bigger man. He doesn’t see us as full human beings with our own dreams. Our own purposes, our own capabilities — and he has shown that clearly throughout this campaign.”

Republicans who are crossing over to vote for Clinton are likewise turning to women supporters. In conjunction with Republicans for Clinton (R4C16.org), 10 Republican women who are endorsing Clinton put out a letter, which opened for additional signers on Tuesday evening. Their letter includes the following:

“As Republican women, we are united in our commitment to turn the disaster of Trump’s candidacy into a teachable moment, to create a better future for our children and our communities. We represent mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues, wives, girlfriends, partners and individuals who are committed to our families and neighbors and dedicated to the work we do in its various forms…

“Donald Trump’s indefensible words and actions have shined the brightest spotlight of our democracy — the presidency — on issues that were otherwise lying just beneath the surface: sexism, racism, xenophobia, divisiveness, hatred and autocracy. This vote is about the society we want to live in and our collective future.

“We stand for civility, empathy and equal opportunity. We stand for individual liberty and empowering individuals to affect change. We are beyond the current, intransigent extremes of partisan politics. We reflect and embrace the values of a balanced center that enable us to work together, and address the substantial challenges facing our great country.”

They argue against voting “in protest on a third party, a write-in candidate or by opting out”. R4C16.org has set up “TrumpTraders” to accommodate those in swing states who are finding it hard to pull the lever for Clinton. USA Today reported that “if you’re a supporter of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in Ohio, you could get two Clinton voters from California to swap with you. John Stubbs, a co-founder of Republicans for Clinton 2016, the group behind TrumpTraders, said at least 1,000 people have signed up for their site.

‘Not an easy choice to be Republican’

One of the signatories of the letter is Jennifer Harris from Austin who worked as a communications director for Republican officials and politicians. “I was raised in a straight ticket, dyed-in-the-wool Republican household, cut my teeth in politics working for Texas Republican officials, but this year’s election has rattled me to my core,” she tells me via email. “I’m a mother and a small business owner, and I’ve never had such a visceral and unsettling feeling about a GOP nominee for president. My vote in the 2016 election is about policy over politics. It’s about recognising that fear, hatred, division and anger cannot guide our nation, yet this is exactly what Trump preys upon and sells to voters.” She adds, “It’s not an easy choice to be a Republican and cast a vote for Hillary Clinton, but it reflects my belief that we have to as a nation have a steady hand and someone who can, I hope, forge compromise in addressing the critical issues facing our nation today.”

Another signatory, Jennifer Sarver, was for 20 years a Republican volunteer and staffer who found herself unable to support her party’s nominee. “I early voted last week for Hillary Clinton and for Republicans down ballot,” she says. “I worked on GOP house campaigns in the late ‘90s and have worked nationally in Republican politics, serving in the US Senate for former senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and also in the Bush Administration as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Commerce Department. I’ve volunteered at the 2008 and 2012 Republican National Conventions as a speechwriter. I was an alternate at the Texas GOP convention this summer. So, I’m a 40-year-old Republican, college educated, white split-ticket voter in a red state. This campaign’s unicorn.”

Why break with the GOP this time? “Trump’s divisiveness, sexism, racism, lack of experience and his general disdain for facts far outweigh my concerns over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server,” she explains. “While I disagree with her on many policy issues and would much rather be supporting a Republican at the top of a ticket, I cannot in good conscience vote for someone so wholly unfit to be the leader of the free world as Donald Trump.”

R4C16’s list also includes three generations of women from a single family. Jean Feigley, 101 years old, has voted for the Republican in every election since she was able to vote in 1936 — until this one. A great, great-grandmother of three, she is a widow of a World War I veteran and currently resides in a military-retirement community. Her daughter Major General Donna Barbisch, US Army retired, 38 years in the army and is also voting for Clinton, as is Jean’s granddaughter, Trish Hartman, a mother of two and a military reservist. In explaining the rationale for rejecting Trump, Barbisch tells me, “He has no moral compass. I was blown away as I observed him use his unethical marketing tactics to seduce the public and gain support.”

She began researching Clinton’s record. “At that time, my mother and daughters only discussed how unfit Trump was to even consider running. I don’t know when they actually decided to support Hillary, but by May 2016 I know we were all on board.” As for the outrage over Clinton’s emails she says, “I question the efficacy of putting any more of our tax dollars into further Congressional review.”

In sum, these women are not happy about rejecting the Republican nominee, but they plainly are fed up. If Clinton wins it may in fact be because of gender — not hers, but because millions of women appalled at Trump’s misogyny have decided that country and simple decency take precedence over partisan loyalty. It would be true political karma if they turn out to be the difference in the race.

—By arrangement with The Washington Post

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2016