By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: November 4, 2016 9:55 PM

For all that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said of locker room talk, the following was learned from a conversation this reporter had while in a locker room.

A lifelong Republican, a business person, someone who proudly said he had never voted for a Democrat for president, someone who said he could not stand Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said to me, “I can’t believe it, but I did it. I voted for her.”

Why is that? I asked.

“We have to have stability. She knows government and how it works. He will create chaos. We can’t have that, we can’t afford it,” he said.

That was last week’s locker room conversation. This next is from a locker room conversation held this week. Again with a Republican, and a political activist, who spoke about his mother who had not voted for some years. She has voted in this election, he said.

“She voted for Hillary,” he said. “She doesn’t like her, but she hates Trump.”

In the last two weeks there has been a focus, and properly so, on the last minute drive down the field Mr. Trump and his campaign are waging. Ms. Clinton’s campaign has not yet had to line up for a goal line stand, but Mr. Trump is arguably drawing too close to the end zone for Democratic comfort.

In the last week especially there has been much discussion on which candidate has the better campaign staff, the most volunteers, the most money, the most signs. Back and forth chatter has gone on and on over where the candidates are going, where their top supporters are going, to fire up enthusiasm, to drive turnout. Of course, there has also been talk about who is the most anxious at this time (from this standpoint, it looks like both are about equally nervous). Also, there has been talk about what effect absentee and early voting will have.

But no one has talked about that group called the Never Trumpers.

Actually, that’s not quite true. Stu Sandler, of Grand River Strategies, posted on his Facebook page a plea to all the Never Trumpers to go away for a week and let those trying to get Republicans elected alone to do their work.

There is no doubt most Republicans will vote for Mr. Trump. But how many won’t? And what effect could those voters have?

Beyond the locker room, I have heard from a surprising number of Republicans who are either not voting for president, voting for a third-party candidate or voting for Ms. Clinton. My uncle, 91 years old, a retired big-deal Detroit lawyer, who held a poolside reception during the 1980 Republican convention at his house in Bloomfield Hills that Time Magazine featured in a photo (my mother’s right knee can be seen in the picture), decided for the first time in his voting life to not vote for anyone for president. One can argue that helps neither candidate, or one can argue that it helps Ms. Clinton. It strikes me it helps her rather than helps no one.

In fact, of the Republicans I have been friends with for many years, of those who told me whom they are supporting, most are supporting Ms. Clinton. It’s a one-time deal, I am assured. It’s only because of Mr. Trump, and usually they wave a dismissive hand at this point in the conversation.

Again, I have no doubt most of my Republican friends will support Mr. Trump. But put it this way: not a one of my Democratic friends is supporting Mr. Trump.

In the State of the State survey released this week by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, the results showed of those saying they were strong Republicans 95 percent were voting for Mr. Trump and 2 percent for Ms. Clinton. Of Strong Democrats, 96 percent were voting for Ms. Clinton, and 1 percent for Mr. Trump. Of “not-strong” Republicans, 74 percent were voting for Mr. Trump and 9 percent for Ms. Clinton. Of “not strong” Democrats, 89 percent were voting for Ms. Clinton and 6 percent were voting for Mr. Trump.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the survey showed that of people identifying as very conservative, 72 percent supported Mr. Trump and 14 percent supported Ms. Clinton. On the very liberal side, well, Mr. Trump should be happy with the 5 percent he got, while Ms. Clinton got 91 percent.

Small percentages, one can argue. But if a race is as close as this may turn out to be, small percentages can add up to a quite a bit.

So what of the Never Trumpers? What effect could they have? Maybe in the end they will have no effect. Maybe they will have more than one might expect.

However and whatever the effect, I know it will be talked about in the locker room beginning November 9.