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As I was concerned about yesterday, Republican voters seem to be coming out to vote for Sen. Clinton, perhaps spurred by the encouragement of Rush Limbaugh and others. The Republicans know that they have the best chance of winning against Sen. Clinton, so now that their party has decided its nomination they are starting to influence the Democratic race.

It used to be that Sen. Obama was getting more Republican support (he has actually used it as a campaign point) but since the last round of primaries and caucuses, which determined Sen. McCain would be the Republican nominee, we have had two contests. In Wyoming’s Democratic caucus (which was closed, meaning only those registered as a Democrat by February 22, 2008 could participate) we don’t have exit poll numbers, but it is unlikely Republican voters had an impact. In Mississippi, however, Sen. Clinton won the Republican vote by a 3-to-1 margin, 75% to 25%.

(exit poll data source: MSNBC)

It is safe to say that Republicans haven’t all of a sudden started deciding Clinton is the candidate they are ready to switch party affiliation for. Obama has been winning the support of cross-over Republicans for some time, and now all of a sudden a 3-to-1 margin opens for Clinton? Not likely.

It is far more likely that the Limbaugh plan is working and Republicans are trying to ensure a long, drawn-out primary battle between Clinton and Obama and possibly a Clinton nomination because of superdelegates. Just like the Republican Leadership Council ran pro-Nader ads in 2000 in a few states in an attempt to split the liberal/progressive vote, and just like Republican donors made contributions to Nader in an attempt to spoil Kerry’s run in 2004, Republicans are trying to make the rest of the race easier for them by helping to get the weaker Democratic candidate nominated. I fully expect this to increase and continue now that the Republican nomination is determined. State with open primaries are going to see a lot of Republican support for Clinton, and we may even see Republican donors funding her campaign.

The trouble is, the Clinton campaign will A. spin this as overwhelming support from people crossing party lines because they truly support her or B. Not care either way, having only a Clinton nomination in their crosshairs and blinders to everything else, including the future of the country and the Democratic party.