The word is "diverge".
And here you are trying to "teach" us unenlightened dummies all these priceless lesson.
Look, I'm from TN. I know the climate. We're a center-right state, we aren't MS. We have a rat Govenor (who governs from the center-right). Here's the lay of the land:
We have a gay marriage ban on the ballot in Nov.
We have a disproportionate population of military and families.
We have what might be the nationally deciding Senate race in Harold For Jr and Bob Corker.
There aren't enough words to explain how hated the Ford family is in TN, outside of Memphis. Yet, Junior has been groomed since childhood for this very moment in time. He puts himself forward as a moderate, even center-right, which he can get away with because the people in his district would vote for Barry Goldwater as long as his name was Barry Goldwater Ford. The Fords run that town. So he's carefully positioned himself as the most conservative of TNs rats, hired a first-rate staff, and brought in the big guns (CLinton was here last week).
Corker won the primary by default. He's center-right as well (he's changed his position from pro-choice to pro-life), and his opponents were far more conservative. But the Stupid Party split the conservative vote between Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant (who should have won), and now we have Corker.
I only tell you this because it's a real-life example of what you're talking about. Do we vote for the (so-called) RINO Corker, or for the so-called DINO Ford? If you knew TN politics, you'd know there's no chance in Hades pubbies will cross over to Ford. There is no other choice, and I mean that literally. 3rd parties haven't done anything here since Wallace.
No, there will be heavy Republican turnout this fall, due to the gay marriage amendment, and to vote AGAINST Ford. Personally, my vote will be against his crooked father, his indicted uncle, his aunt who was stripped of her seat because of rampant election fraud, his whole darn Memphis Mafia clan. To do that, I have no choice but to vote for the RINO.