Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell to vote for Hillary Clinton

The number of top Republicans switching sides is growing.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has added his name to the list.

At an event in Long Island, New York, he revealed he'll be voting for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton - praising her experience and skills as a leader.

Quite the shift in tone from his hacked emails when earlier this year he said "she screws up everything she touches" and that he would "rather not have to vote for her".

But that was then.

In that time Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has delivered a feast of controversies concluding with 11 women accusing him of sexual assault.

For a growing number of Republican foreign policy and national security stalwarts, it has all become too much.

So does this matter?

It's no great surprise that Colin Powell will be casting his vote for Mrs Clinton.

It was widely known that the statesman, who served in the George W Bush administration, is not Mr Trump's biggest fan.

Those same hacked emails revealed him branding his party's candidate a "national disgrace" and an "international pariah".

He also endorsed President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The diehards who love Mr Trump because he's not part of the establishment will only be buoyed by this: who needs these know-it-all elites?!

But this is yet another reminder of just how fractured the Republican Party is.

Mr Trump's claim that he could unite the GOP seems like a joke now as it heads into this election in tatters.

For those moderate Republican voters who are grappling with what to do on 8 November, senior Republicans' rejection of Mr Trump sends a message it's okay to switch teams.

For Mr Trump's less fervent supporters his recent behaviour has been hard to stomach.

The notion of it being acceptable to vote for Mrs Clinton could matter in those traditionally red states like Georgia, Arizona and Texas where she is looking competitive in the polls.

Colin Powell's former boss George W Bush hasn't said who he'll vote for in November but his father George H W Bush is reportedly supporting Mrs Clinton.

Mr Trump crashed their party and no one knows what will become of it after 8 November.