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Gabe WhisnantLottie McGrath

By Gabe Whisnant and Lottie McGrath

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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.

The latest Republicans to back Harris are Jimmy McCain, son of former Republican senator John McCain, and Liz Cheney, former Republican senator for Wyoming and daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney.

Last 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."

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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."

In August, Newsweek emailed the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment.

Grisham in DC

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Republicans Jimmy McCain and Liz Cheney are the latest Republicans to endorse Harris.

On Tuesday, McCain announced he was endorsing the Democrat candidate following the Arlington Cemetery controversy which he called a "violation."

Previously an independent, McCain told CNN's Jake Tapper that he has since changed his voter registration to Democrat and will be voting for Harris come November.

"I feel that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz embody a group of people that will help make this country better. That will take us forward. That's really what matters at the end of the day," he said.

McCain is the first of his family to abandon Trump.

A day later, former Republican representative Liz Cheney announced she was also endorsing Harris, due to the "danger" that Donald Trump poses.

Cheney made the announcement during a speech at Duke University, North Carolina on Wednesday.

She told the crowd: "As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris."

In a statement on Wednesday night, Harris' campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon welcomed the endorsement saying: "The Vice President is proud to have earned Congresswoman Cheney's vote. She is a patriot who loves this country and puts our democracy and our Constitution first."

Prior to endorsing Harris, Cheney was a vocal critic of Donald Trump and his running mate J.D Vance.

In recent weeks, other senior Republican figures have also backed Harris. On August 27, more than 200 staffers for previous Republican presidential candidates backed Harris, saying that a second Trump term is "untenable."

The letter was signed by 238 people who worked for George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney. They wrote: "Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That's to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable."

They also urged "moderate Republicans and conservative independents" to follow their lead and back Harris.

The signatories ranged from interns to high-level officials. The latter included Jean Becker, George H.W. Bush's longtime chief of staff; Joe Donoghue, former legislative director for John McCain; and Jennifer Lux, who was press secretary for John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

Former Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a longtime vocal Republican critic of Trump, is also among the prominent names on the list of Republicans backing Harris.

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.

On August 13, Troye hosted a "Republicans for Harris" online rally that was attended virtually by 73,000 people 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 the 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.

On August 4, 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.

Kinzinger with Duncan and Dunn

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Other prominent figures in the "Republicans for Harris" program include

Other former GOP Congress members who endorsed Harris include

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