As RedState previously reported, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) raised eyebrows during an interview Thursday where he suggested the fact South Carolina was an open primary state would be beneficial to GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley, whom he endorsed, because it would allow Democrats to vote for her in the Palmetto State's Feb. 24th Republican primary.

On @thepulseofnh this AM, @GovChrisSununu notes that SC primary is "even more open" than #FITN.
"In South Carolina, if you're a Democrat, you can just walk in the door and vote. So there is a lot of opportunity there" for @NikkiHaley in #SouthCarolinaPrimary @NHGOP

— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) January 25, 2024

In fairness, there are a sizable number of conservative Democrats in southern states like South Carolina that will faithfully vote for Republicans. 

But considering that former POTUS Donald Trump - who leads Haley in polling there by an average of 30 points as of this writing - will also be a recipient of some of those votes, it was clear Sununu was advocating for Democrat meddling in the South Carolina primary among those Democrats who despise Trump.

READ: The Dem Faithful Cope and Seethe As Joe Manchin Goes Full Metal Tease in New Hampshire Visit

Considering Haley's numbers in New Hampshire were higher than expected thanks to the large number of independent and unaffiliated voters who voted for her, it wasn't exactly a surprise to see Sununu advocate for a similar strategy in the South Carolina primary which is, as he noted, "even more open" than New Hampshire's was.

But the suggestion did not sit well at all with Republicans across the board, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who on Sunday ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump.

"Democrats voting in a Republican primary should not represent an 'opportunity' for a candidate that is serious about winning large numbers of Republican voters," DeSantis, whose state is a closed primary state, wrote on the Twitter machine Friday.

"Why would Republicans want our nominations influenced by the other party in the first place?" he went on to ask rhetorically.

The conservative southern Democrat factor notwithstanding, it makes no sense to advocate for a Dem version of "Operation Chaos" as every single Democrat who votes that way in order to try and derail the nomination of another candidate is not going to be voting for that person in the general election. Period.

I've seen people even those on my "side of the aisle" who are well-intentioned make the argument before that yes a Republican is going to need more than Republican votes to win a general election.

While that's true, it borderlines on election interference in my book to have rock-ribbed Democrats "help" pick the Republican nominee in the primaries for the purposes of making the road for the eventual Democratic nominee easier.

Republican-controlled state governments in states that allow open primaries have repeatedly had opportunities to change this system over the years but haven't. Until it does, expect more worrisome Democrat meddling in GOP primaries, something for which even some on the GOP side like Sununu (and twice-failed presidential candidate Chris Christie) will, sadly, openly advocate.

To find out what type of primary your state has, click here.

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