NEWSWEEK
A number of prominent current and former Republicans have emerged as some of Vice President Kamala Harris‘ most ardent supporters as the Democratic presidential nominee looks to win over conservative and moderate voters put off by former president Donald Trump, the GOP nominee.
Earlier this month, the “Harris for President” campaign announced “Republicans for Harris,” a program designed to “further outreach efforts to the millions of Republican voters who continued to reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda.”
Currently, there are dozens of current or former Republican figures, some of which now identify with a different party, who have already endorsed the vice president.
Austin Weatherford, the campaign’s national director of Republican outreach, previously told the Associated Press that Trump’s “extremism is toxic to the millions of Republicans who no longer believe the party of Donald Trump represents their values.”
Newsweek emailed the Harris and Trump campaigns Wednesday morning for comment.
Former Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a longtime vocal Republican critic of Trump, is among the prominent names on the list.
Former Trump White House officials Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye have also joined the GOP grassroots program. Grisham served multiple roles in the Trump administration, mostly in communications, the most recent being chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump. She resigned in the hours after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Troye served as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence and on the White House Coronavirus Task Force before resigning in August 2020 and endorsing Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Troye hosted a “Republicans for Harris” online rally that was attended virtually by 73,000 people on Tuesday night, according to organizers. The group’s website says “over 100,000 people have joined this campaign within a campaign. Millions of Republicans will cast a ballot for Kamala Harris in November.”
“It is okay to be a Republican and vote for Kamala Harris. This movement is strong and growing,” the group wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
On Tuesday’s call, Kinzinger said Republicans should vote for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, because “the faith in our democracy is constantly being chipped away by Donald Trump.”
He said: “Let’s think of what all generations in America have done to defend this country… . I think about my grandfather in World War II, I think about the Korean War, or Vietnam, my generation after 9/11 putting their lives on the line to defend this country.
“We’re not asking for anybody to put their life on the line. We’re just saying, you know, maybe once, just this one time if necessary, keep the label of Republican, but vote to defend this democracy. This uncomfortable alliance we have is the only thing that’s going to defend the faith in our election system.”
Former Republican governors Jim Edgar of Illinois, Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey have also endorsed Harris as well as former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.
Former Republican Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles supports Harris.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance represent the greatest threat to American values and institutions that I have seen in my lifetime — and that’s why I am committed to defeating him in November,” Giles, who will co-chair the Arizona Republican task force for Harris, said in a recent statement.
Last week, in a move to court disenchanted Republicans and moderate voters, a “Republicans for Harris” group was launched in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire branch of “Republicans for Harris” is spearheaded by Claira Monier, a former Reagan administration official and former chair of Republican Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign in New Hampshire, and James Steiner, a former Republican congressional candidate and retired U.S. Army Green Beret.
Former Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney has not yet endorsed Harris, but remains a vocal critic of both Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.
Other prominent figures in the “Republicans for Harris” program include
- Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
- Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
- Former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin
- Former GOP state chair and state Senator Chris Vance of Washington
- Reed Howard of Young Republicans for Harris
- Former Republican National Committee (RNC) delegate Rina Shah.
- Jennifer Horn, former New Hampshire Republican Party Chair
Other former GOP Congress members who endorsed Harris include
- Rod Chandler of Washington
- Tom Coleman of Missouri
- Dave Emery of Maine
- Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland
- Jim Greenwood of Pennslyvania
- John LeBoutillier of New York
- Susan Molinari of New York
- Jack Quinn of New York
- Denver Riggleman of Virginia
- Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island
- Christopher Shays of Connecticut
- Peter Smith of Vermont
- Alan Steelman of Texas
- David Trott of Michigan
- Joe Walsh of Illinois
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN NEWSWEEK
