The former head of the Ohio Republican Party is spearheading an effort to get Democrat Joe Biden elected president.
Matt Borges voted for Donald Trump in 2016, after endorsing then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the primary. But his concerns about Trump led to his ouster as Ohio GOP chair in 2017, in favor of Trump supporter Jane Timken.
Now Borges leads the Right Side PAC, a multi-million-dollar digital, mail and phone campaign to convince specific GOP voters to cast early ballots for Biden.
“For one time in my career, I see one race where it’s important for the party, it’s important for the future of conservatism, to support the Democratic nominee this time around," Borges said.
The Right Side PAC will target voters in six swing states – Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina and Florida – focusing on those expressing unhappiness with the Republican Party’s direction under Trump.
"Frustration caused by the many failures of the Trump presidency has created a growing number of disaffected Republican voters," Right Side's website reads. "This has been exacerbated by the failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic and fanning the flames of hatred in our country. In every neighborhood of every town, in every congressional district in all the must-win states, is a former Trump-supporting GOP voter who knows now that the time has come to take bold action."
While some reports have suggested that Ohio is a toss-up this year, Borges said his PAC won't be working in the state, which Trump won by nearly 500,000 votes in 2016.
Borges said the PAC is focused only on the presidential race, not on down-ticket races. And he stressed he's not becoming a Democrat.
“I have absolutely zero interest in that. I hope the Senate stays Republican. I’m going to vote for every other Republican on the ballot," Borges said. "I don’t think there’s any question this is an extremely unique set of circumstances that we find ourselves in, and a once and only in a lifetime situation for me.”
Among the other operatives backing the Right Side PAC is Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director who was fired by Trump just 10 days into the job. He's been sharply critical of Trump in recent months.
There was no comment from the Ohio Republican Party.
