The phrase “unify the party” should be dropped from
the American vernacular. Who cares about unifying a party during
a presidential primary election? Parties are nothing. People are
everything.
The designation of a party “nominee” in the primary
election is only a recommendation by that party. You don’t
have to vote for your party's nominee when it comes time to
vote for president.
You can still vote for whomever you wish in the general
election.
The individual candidates should remember that too. Not getting
ones party's nomination shouldn't be an excuse to give
up. I'm repulsed by non-nominees trying to convince their
supporters to vote for their former ideological enemies just to
“unify the party.” That's disgusting
behavior.
In the primary election, of course I'll vote for the person
whom I want to become president as the nominee of my party.
However, if they don't become the nominee, I'm not going
to switch my vote to some other person in the same party whom I
don't want to become president just to “unify the
party.”
Why would I waste my vote on someone whom I don't want?
I'll wait until the general election and write in the name of
the person whom I actually want to become president. That's
why the blank space is there—so the will of the people can
be counted regardless of the corrupting influences of any
parties.