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Hey, Texplainer: I am a Texas Republican who just can’t vote for Donald Trump. What are my other voting options?
A flood of Republicans across the country have condemned GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump sinceย the Washington Post released a video Friday that showedย the real estate mogulย speaking lewdly about women.
In Texas,ย several Republican officials have criticizedย Trump or called for him to step down from the race.ย Yet Trump has insisted he’s staying through Election Day.
So what’s a Texas Republican who refuses to vote for Trump to do?ย Aside from leaving the top of your ballot blank,ย here are yourย options:
- Vote for Hillary Clinton
For many Republicans,ย this option remains unthinkable.
Yet the Democratic Party’s standard-bearerย has been attempting to sway Republicans turned off byย Trump by emphasizing her experience.ย At Sunday’s second presidentialย debate, Clinton highlighted her ability to work across the aisle, includingย her work as a U.S. Senator from New Yorkย alongside former Republican president George W. Bush to rebuild New York Cityย after theย 9/11 attacks.
“I was very proud that when I told him what the city needed, what we needed to recover, he said you’ve got it, and he never wavered,” Clinton said of Bush. “He stuck with me.โ
- Vote for a minor-party candidate
Alongside Trump and Clinton on the Texas ballot are two other names: Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Johnson, aย former New Mexico Governor, has classified himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. His platform includes support forย a balanced budgetย amendment.ย He also supports legalizing marijuana and access to abortion.
Stein, a doctor and longtimeย environmentalย activist,ย ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010. On the campaign trail,ย she has largely focused onย environmentalย and social justice issues.ย
Neither Libertarians nor Greens have everย won a statewide race in Texas. In most election years, both parties have set their ambitions lower, hoping to drawย at least 5 percent of the voteย in aย statewide race, the threshold that a minor party needs to clear to automatically qualify for ballot access in the next election.
- Vote for one of 13 eligible write-in candidates
For those uninterested in supporting any of the four presidential candidates on the ballot, writing in another name may be appealing, but only certain names will be counted. Write-in candidates were required to register with the Texas Secretary of State by August 22.
This year, 13 candidates are registered as write-ins. They include Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer who has drawn the attention of some prominent conservatives as a Trump critic, and Robert Morrow, the former Travis County Republican Party Chair who has gained infamyย for his conspiracy theories and outlandish behavior.
The full list of eligible write-in candidates are:
- Darrel L. Castle
- Scott Cubblerย
- Cherunda Fox
- Tom Hoefling
- Laurence Kotlikoff
- Jonathan Lee
- Michael A. Maturenย
- Evan McMullin
- Monica Moorehead
- Robert Morrowย
- Emidio Soltysikย
- Dale Steffesย
- Tony Valdiviaย
Bottom Line: For Texas Republicans who want to vote for someone other than Trump, there are three other presidential candidates on the ballot and 13 other registered write-in candidates.




