To Beat Trump, Democrats Seek to Help Anti-Abortion Candidate

Randall Terry, a longtime leader in the anti-abortion movement, is running a third-party campaign for president.

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Randall Terry outside the Supreme Court in 2022.

Some Democratic donors and political operatives have quietly been working to help an anti-abortion activist qualify for the presidential ballot in swing states and assist his campaign, part of an attempt to siphon votes away from the Republican ticket, according to four people with knowledge of the plans.

The Democrats’ efforts are on behalf of Randall Terry, who expects to be the nominee of the Constitution Party in about a dozen states. Mr. Terry is the founder of Operation Rescue, which gained prominence for blocking the entrances to abortion clinics.

But to Democrats, Mr. Terry has become an ally of sorts — a far-right candidate who they hope can persuade some Republican voters to reject former President Donald J. Trump, whose support for the anti-abortion cause has been inconsistent. Mr. Trump has boasted about appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who were responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade but said recently that his administration would be “great” for women’s reproductive rights.

In a close election, being able to convince a few thousand voters in targeted states to cast a third-party ballot rather than vote for Mr. Trump could help Vice President Kamala Harris.

Political activists of all stripes have increasingly sought to interfere with the opposing party’s internal politics, including by helping primary candidates whom they see as easier to beat in general elections. Republicans this cycle have played a role in helping Cornel West, a liberal activist who is running for president as an independent, qualify for the ticket.

There are at least two strategies from Democrats to help Mr. Terry. The first idea, which was pitched to Democratic donors, has been to fund ballot-access efforts on Mr. Terry’s behalf, according to two of the people with knowledge of the talks.

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