Hillary Clinton, with daughter Chelsea: some Republicans see her as preferable to Trump (Larry Marano)

A SENIOR Republican senator with strong foreign policy credentials has told aides on Capitol Hill that he will vote for Hillary Clinton if Donald Trump becomes his party’s presidential nominee.

The senator’s view is that elevation of the billionaire property magnate to the White House would be dangerous for the country. Fears for national security are provoking widespread panic among party elders, leading several top figures to vow quietly to vote for the Democrat.

Trump has been the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination for the past five months.

With the vote starting in Iowa in just over five weeks, lifelong Republican voters are increasingly vowing not to participate in the general election if Trump is the nominee.

They include a party grandee, Tom Ridge,