When the “Republicans for Harris” rollout began in earnest a month ago, the effort featured some fairly prominent names, including former GOP governors, members of Congress and even Republicans who served on Donald Trump’s White House team. In the days and weeks that followed, the list of Republicans backing the Democratic vice president has continued to grow.
With fewer than 50 days remaining before Election Day, this trend isn’t just ongoing, it’s also quickly becoming an avalanche. NBC News reported:
A group of more than 100 Republican former national security and policy officials who served in the Reagan, both Bushes and Trump administrations and in Congress announced their endorsement of Harris’ presidential campaign. The former officials said Harris is the kind of “principled, serious” and “steady leader” the country needs, who has “demonstrated that she can engage in orderly national security decision-making, without the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump Administration.”
“We believe that she possesses the essential qualities to serve as President and Donald Trump does not,” the coalition of Republicans said in a statement. “We therefore support her election to be President.”
The same statement went on to describe Trump as “unfit to serve” and “dangerous,” while condemning the GOP candidate for his coziness with “authoritarian leaders,” “contempt” for ethical and legal norms, and “chaotic national security decision-making.”
The signatories are not obscure, low-level bureaucrats from agencies few have heard of. On the contrary, as NBC News’ report noted, the list includes William Webster, former CIA and FBI director who served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations; John Negroponte, director of national intelligence under George W. Bush; and Robert Zoellick, who served as deputy secretary of state and U.S. trade representative under George W. Bush and White House deputy chief of staff under George H.W. Bush.
Their announcement roughly coincided with former Republican Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina — perhaps best known for taking a leading role in Bill Clinton’s impeachment — also throwing his support behind the Democratic candidate.
“Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the republic,” Inglis declared this week. “He’s disqualified based on character and rationality, so I’ll be voting for Kamala Harris.”
This came on the heels of Harris picking up support from 17 former staffers who worked for Ronald Reagan.
Which came on the heels of Harris also picking up support from Alberto Gonzales, who served as the U.S. attorney general in Bush/Cheney administration.
Which came on the heels of Harris also receiving endorsements from former House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. The list keeps going. I kept a close eye on this dynamic four years ago and found quite a few GOP partisans — former Republican National Committee chairs, former Republican cabinet secretaries, former Republican governors and former Republican members of Congress — who publicly expressed support for the Biden-led Democratic ticket. As Election Day 2024 approaches, Harris is well positioned to benefit from similar cross-party support — which Trump will almost certainly lack. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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