ATHENS, Ohio — With Donald Trump’s remaining rivals bowing out of the race, clearing his path to the nomination, Hillary Clinton is looking for ways to woo Republicans turned off by the brash billionaire.
The Democratic front-runner’s campaign believes Trump’s historically high unfavorable ratings and penchant for controversy may be enough to persuade a slice of GOP voters to get behind her bid, in much the same way so-called Reagan Democrats sided with the Republican president in the 1980s.
As Trump stood alone on Wednesday after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich ended their bids, there were some early signs that a sliver of the party might see Clinton as the only option.
“I’m with her,” tweeted Mark Salter, a top campaign aide to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain.
Democrats caution their effort to win over Clinton Republicans — or Hilla-cans — is in its earliest stages, but could grow to include ads and other outreach targeted in particular at suburban women in battleground states. Already, aides say, a number of Republicans have privately told Clinton and her team they plan to break party ranks and support her.
“Let’s get on the American team,” Clinton said, making an explicit appeal to independents and Republicans, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.
Hoping to hasten any move to her side, her campaign on Wednesday released a list of Republicans vowing never to vote for Trump along with a web ad featuring clips of prominent GOPers, including his former rivals, bashing the New York billionaire in every possibly way.