1 00:00:02,366 --> 00:00:04,900 JUDY WOODRUFF: Last night's Democratic Convention featured Republicans who will vote for Joe 2 00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:09,900 Biden in the election, including John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio, and 2016 Republican 3 00:00:12,233 --> 00:00:14,333 presidential candidate. 4 00:00:14,333 --> 00:00:18,466 Some Republican groups are going further, supporting a Democratic candidate in ways 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:20,166 never seen before. 6 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:22,266 Our John Yang has the story. 7 00:00:22,266 --> 00:00:24,366 DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We want to get our schools open. 8 00:00:24,366 --> 00:00:27,900 JOHN YANG: With slick ads, viral tweets and op-ed columns... 9 00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:30,133 MARCHERS: Jews will not replace us! 10 00:00:30,133 --> 00:00:32,733 NARRATOR: America is better than Donald Trump. 11 00:00:32,733 --> 00:00:37,733 JOHN YANG: New conservative groups are organizing to support an unlikely candidate, former Vice 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,633 President Joe Biden. 13 00:00:41,633 --> 00:00:46,566 Rosario Marin was U.S. treasurer in the George W. Bush administration. Now she's a member 14 00:00:46,566 --> 00:00:51,533 of the group 43 Alumni for Biden. She says backing a Democrat over a sitting Republican 15 00:00:53,366 --> 00:00:55,433 president was difficult. 16 00:00:55,433 --> 00:00:59,566 ROSARIO MARIN, 43 Alumni for Biden: Prior to him, I had been to five Republican Conventions 17 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:06,433 as a delegate. I have been a spokesperson to five Republican presidential candidates. 18 00:01:08,466 --> 00:01:12,866 But I couldn't do it for him, and I certainly couldn't do it now. To then go that other 19 00:01:15,233 --> 00:01:19,500 step, to go out and vote for a Democrat, it is painful. 20 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:24,500 JOHN YANG: Another group, The Lincoln Project, is known for its ads targeting President Trump. 21 00:01:26,366 --> 00:01:29,166 NARRATOR: What does it say that he won't condemn the flag of hate? 22 00:01:29,166 --> 00:01:31,866 JOHN YANG: Political consultant Reed Galen is a co-founder. 23 00:01:31,866 --> 00:01:35,933 REED GALEN, Co-Founder, The Lincoln Project: When we put out the "Trump is not well" advertisement 24 00:01:35,933 --> 00:01:40,966 about his shuffle down the ramp at West Point, it clearly pierced his bubble of unreality 25 00:01:40,966 --> 00:01:43,533 that he continually lives in. 26 00:01:43,533 --> 00:01:47,766 And I think that's been our greatest contribution, is pushing him back on his heels, keeping 27 00:01:47,766 --> 00:01:49,766 him back on his heels. 28 00:01:49,766 --> 00:01:52,966 JOHN YANG: On Twitter, President Trump called them "a group of Republicans in name only 29 00:01:52,966 --> 00:01:57,933 who failed badly 12 years ago, then again eight years ago, and then got badly beaten 30 00:01:59,233 --> 00:02:02,800 by me, a political first-timer, four years ago." 31 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,366 NARRATOR: They chose Trump. 32 00:02:05,366 --> 00:02:09,566 JOHN YANG: But Galen says the group's goals are wider than just getting under the president's 33 00:02:10,033 --> 00:02:11,233 skin. 34 00:02:11,233 --> 00:02:12,933 NARRATOR: Remember their actions. 35 00:02:12,933 --> 00:02:16,233 JOHN YANG: They are also challenging senators who support the president. 36 00:02:16,233 --> 00:02:20,533 REED GALEN: These folks have violated their oaths. They have abdicated their responsibilities 37 00:02:20,533 --> 00:02:25,533 as an Article 1 body in the United States Senate. And they have really forsaken any 38 00:02:26,733 --> 00:02:28,833 conservative values to support Donald Trump. 39 00:02:28,833 --> 00:02:33,233 JOHN YANG: The group plans to organize in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, 40 00:02:33,233 --> 00:02:36,600 Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, and Florida. 41 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:38,400 MAN: I'm tired of being embarrassed. 42 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,400 WOMAN: I have been riddled with guilt. 43 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,133 WOMAN: I am ashamed to this day of voting for him. 44 00:02:43,133 --> 00:02:48,133 JOHN YANG: Another group, Republican Voters Against Trump, is also targeting battleground 45 00:02:49,966 --> 00:02:53,400 states, collecting testimonials from GOP voters disenchanted with the president. 46 00:02:55,066 --> 00:02:57,533 Conservative activist Sarah Longwell is one of the co-founders. 47 00:02:57,533 --> 00:02:59,600 SARAH LONGWELL, Co-Founder, Republican Voters Against Trump: People really don't like political 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,066 ads. But what they're -- really find persuasive are actually real stories. 49 00:03:06,066 --> 00:03:09,000 I have been conducting focus groups for the last three years with what I would call reluctant 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Trump voters. Those people now are very, very clearly have seen that Donald Trump is not 51 00:03:16,033 --> 00:03:19,766 fit for the moment, that he is not the right person to steward the country through compounding 52 00:03:21,233 --> 00:03:23,700 crises, a health crisis, an economic crisis, a racial crisis. 53 00:03:23,700 --> 00:03:28,700 JOHN YANG: But will these Republican-led efforts actually win Biden any votes? 54 00:03:29,866 --> 00:03:31,900 Republican pollster Jon McHenry is skeptical. 55 00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:33,966 JON MCHENRY, Republican Pollster: We have already seen a lot of those folks who would 56 00:03:33,966 --> 00:03:38,366 have been inclined to go away from Republicans, go away from this president have already done 57 00:03:38,366 --> 00:03:40,800 so. So I don't know that there's a lot to work with there for them. 58 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,800 JOHN YANG: McHenry also points to Mr. Trump's strong approval rating among Republican voters, 59 00:03:47,766 --> 00:03:50,866 hovering around 90 percent even during the pandemic. The president says there's more 60 00:03:51,966 --> 00:03:54,100 enthusiasm for him than there was in 2016. 61 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:58,666 DONALD TRUMP: I think we're doing very well in the polls. And I think you have a silent 62 00:04:00,666 --> 00:04:05,433 majority, the likes of which this country has never seen before. This is a very important 63 00:04:06,633 --> 00:04:08,666 election. We have done a great job. 64 00:04:08,666 --> 00:04:12,200 JOHN YANG: But all three anti-Trump groups say the Democratic nominee presents a unique 65 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,900 opportunity. 66 00:04:14,900 --> 00:04:17,633 SARAH LONGWELL: One of the most common responses I get in the focus groups to why did you vote 67 00:04:17,633 --> 00:04:22,433 for Donald Trump in 2016 is, people say: I didn't vote for Donald Trump. I voted against 68 00:04:22,433 --> 00:04:24,466 Hillary Clinton. 69 00:04:24,466 --> 00:04:28,700 And so it's hard to overstate how much of a difference it makes having Joe Biden as 70 00:04:29,833 --> 00:04:31,833 the nominee, as opposed to Hillary Clinton. 71 00:04:31,833 --> 00:04:35,733 ROSARIO MARIN: I'm going to vote for Joe Biden because whatever I may disagree with him in 72 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,000 his policies, I know he knows government. He has been there a long time. He knows how 73 00:04:44,433 --> 00:04:48,000 to govern. He knows what he can do and what he cannot do. 74 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,933 JOHN YANG: And you still consider yourself a Republican? 75 00:04:50,933 --> 00:04:55,933 ROSARIO MARIN: Yes, a true Republican, a true Republican. I don't know what this guy is. 76 00:04:57,366 --> 00:04:59,666 JOHN YANG: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.