Clinton suffers more defections as Trump wins Electoral College

Angry protests fizzled and Donald Trump has now officially won enough electoral votes to claim the White House, with Texas putting him over the edge late Monday afternoon.

Some activists screamed and predicted violent deaths for Americans at the hands of Mr. Trump, begging electors to switch their votes to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. But Republicans maintained ranks and officially selected the billionaire businessman the 45th president.

“Today we walk through history together,” said Robert Gleason, chairman of the Pennsylvania GOP, said as he led the proceedings in his state — one of several Rust Belt and midwestern states to flip, delivering the GOP the White House once again.

Claims of “dozens” of GOP electors prepared to ditch Mr. Trump didn’t materialize. Indeed, Mrs. Clinton seemed to suffer worse in the actual voting.
Four Democratic electors in Washington state defected, with three voting for one of her predecessors, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and one voting for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American leader active in the recent fight against a pipeline in the Dakotas.

In Minnesota, an elector tried to vote for Sen. Bernard Sanders, but state law prohibits defectors. He was replaced by an alternate, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and all 10 of the state’s votes went to Mrs. Clinton.


And a Clinton elector in Maine tried to cast his ballot for Mr. Sanders but it was ruled improper and he had to switch to Mrs. Clinton. David Bright said in a Facebook post ahead of time he was trying to send a signal that the energy within his party is decidedly with Mr. Sanders.

“I cast my Electoral College vote for Bernie Sanders today to let those new voters who were inspired by him know that some of us did hear them, did listen to them, do respect them and understand their disappointment, Mr. Bright said in a Facebook post. “I want them to know that not only can they come back to the process, but that they will be welcomed back; that there is room in the Democratic Party for their values.”

GOP electors were replaced in several states as well. And one Republican in Texas cast a vote for former Rep. Ron Paul, and another for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who was one of many Republicans Mr. Trump defeated for his party’s nomination this year.

While the Texas vote was done by secret ballot, Christopher Suprun had announced his plans to vote for Mr. Kasich, saying Mr. Trump had failed to win him over.

The electoral votes will be counted by Congress early next month, and Mr. Trump will be sworn in on Jan. 20.

His election marks the second in the last five where the winner of the national popular vote did not win a majority in the Electoral College.

By the time the voting is over, Mr. Trump is expected to win 306 electoral votes, or significantly more than the minimum 270 needed.

 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/19/donald-trump-wins-electoral-college-hillary-clinto/