Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake Endorses Harris—Joining These ...

30 Sep 2024

Forbes

Topline

Former Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, announced he will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in November—joining a growing list of Republican lawmakers and big names who have said they will cross party lines in the upcoming election.

The former Arizona senator and ambassador to Turkey said he wants to support someone who will “unite ... [+] our country” rather than divide it.

Getty Images Key Facts

Flake—who served as the ambassador to Turkey until earlier this month—said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday he is supporting the Harris-Walz ticket because he believes in the rule of law and wants to support a candidate “who respects the will of the voters and would never attempt to use the powers of the Presidency to overturn an election” and “seeks to unite our country” rather than divide it.

More than 100 former staffers and national security leaders from past Republican administrations endorsed Harris on Sept. 18, issuing a statement from the group “Reagan, Bush, McCain & Romney Alumni for Harris” that condemned Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021 and criticized his national security record.

Alberto Gonzales, former U.S. attorney general and counsel to the president under George W. Bush, endorsed Harris in an op-ed published in Politico on Sept. 12 in which he said Trump is “perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sept. 6 he would vote for Harris, calling former President Donald Trump a “threat to our republic” and saying U.S. citizens “have a duty to put our country above partisanship to defend our Constitution.”

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., announced just two days before her father that she would be supporting Harris, as well, telling a crowd at Duke University that she “thought deeply” about her vote and is supporting Harris “because of the danger that Donald Trump poses.”

Former vice presidential candidate and GOP Sen. John McCain’s son, Jimmy McCain, said on Sept. 3 he changed his voter registration to Democrat and planned to support Harris, citing Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery during which one of his staffers reportedly pushed a cemetery worker.

Staunch Trump critic former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August and urged people to vote for Harris after he had previously endorsed President Joe Biden for president.

Former Lt. Gov of Georgia Geoff Duncan also spoke at the DNC and endorsed Harris, saying: “Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching—if you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you're not a Democrat, you're a patriot.”

Stephanie Grisham, a Trump White House press secretary, also voiced support for Harris at the DNC, telling the crowd Trump has “no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth,” while Harris “respects the American people.”

Anthony Scaramucci, who served as a White House communications director under Trump, said in a post on X on July 24—just days after Harris took over the top of the ticket—he believed Harris is “capable and has a great team,” adding he looked forward to seeing her policies on crypto.

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Key Background

November’s race between Harris and Trump is expected to be highly contested. Following Biden leaving the presidential race in late July and handing the top of the ticket to Harris, she nearly erased the lead Trump had grown after Biden’s poor first debate performance. The vice president has been narrowly leading Trump in recent polls, but the two are going back and forth in razor-thin races in most swing states. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday found that—with just 40 days until the election—the race was basically tied in Michigan and Harris had a slight lead in Wisconsin.

Big Number

2.8. That’s how many points Harris leads Trump by, according to FiveThirtyEight’s national polling average on Sunday. RealClearPolitics’ national average shows Harris with a 2-point lead.

Chief Critic

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told the Washington Post that “nobody cares what these disgruntled and deranged people have to say,” referring to Republicans supporting Harris. “President Trump is overwhelmingly supported by the majority of Republicans and polling better than he ever did in 2016 and 2020,” she added.

Contra

At least two former Democrats have endorsed Trump. Former Democrat-turned-independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump in August after ending his presidential campaign, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, endorsed Trump shortly after. The former president placed both Kennedy and Gabbard on his transition team after their endorsements.

Tangent

In a late-August interview on CNN, Harris said she would put a Republican in her cabinet if elected as part of her effort to represent “all Americans.” She did not indicate who she had in mind or for what role. Presidents Biden and Trump did not appoint cabinet members from across the aisle, but it’s not uncommon: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama all did.