There’s a lot of strategic logic to trying to vote in the other party’s primary in a state where your party is not currently competitive. After all, that way you might have a real say in which candidate wins. This is harder in closed primary states, where a voter has to make the psychological choice to fully switch to a party they may seriously dislike, but in open or semi-open primary states (the latter allowing independents to vote in primaries), it could be a pretty straightforward strategic move by voters. As an example, around 3,700 registered Democrats in Colorado’s solidly Republican 3rd District have left the party’s rolls since February. Is that because they’re leaving the party, or is it because they want to vote in the Republican primary against sitting GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert? My guess would be that it’s the latter for many of them, as Boebert does have a primary challenger: moderate state Sen. Don Coram, whose state legislative seat was upended by redistricting.
