PHILADELPHIA — Melanie Barton-Gauss, a retired teacher from Florida, traveled to the City of Brotherly Love just weeks before the presidential election to spread her message of political conversion. "After Jan. 6, I did what in my family is considered unthinkable: I left the Republican Party and joined the Democrat[ic] Party. And I left the church."

Barton-Gauss is part of a bus tour across the key battleground state hosted by Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT). The group teamed up with The Bulwark, a political outlet founded by Never Trump Republicans, for a series of podcast tapings and other events highlighting Republicans and former Republicans supporting Vice President Kamala Harris. Targeting lifelong members of the GOP who harbor doubts about another Donald Trump term is a central strategy of the Harris campaign. RVAT's organizers believe there are just enough of these right-leaning voters to push dead-heat swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin over the top for Democrats.

The fact that the vast majority of former Trump voters are prepared to pull the lever for him again can seem incomprehensible for Democrats, especially after the former president's failed pandemic response and attempted coup. In discussions with women who previously voted for Trump and have come to regret it, however, it was clear why it can be so hard — even for those who know better, deep down inside — to walk away. In telling their stories, these women hope to persuade other Republicans that, as hard as it can be to rebel against your family and community, it's a price worth paying to be able to look at yourself in the mirror the morning of Nov. 6.

"I remember thinking before I cast that vote, what do........

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