Former Arizona GOP senator endorses Kamala Harris

Former Senator Jeff Flake is the latest Republican to dump Donald Trump and support Kamala Harris.

Flake, now U.S. ambassador to Turkey, described himself in a video statement Sunday as a “conservative Republican” who knows “firsthand” about the “good character and love of country” of Tim Walz and Harris.

That, the former lawmaker said, should be enough for Republicans to support the duo over Trump, whose political ambitions are based largely on his personal “past grievances.”

Reuters

“I want to support a presidential candidate who wants to unite our country, not one who divides us,” Flake said.

Flake, 61, said his decision was partly due to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“I think Republicans in particular believe in the rule of law, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, after losing an election, tries to use presidential power to overturn that election,” he said on Sunday to ABC News.

The ambassador represented Arizona in the House of Representatives and Senate for a total of 18 years between 2001 and 2019. He was a vocal critic of Trump in Congress but often voted for the then-president’s policies. He was sworn in as US Ambassador to Turkey by Harris in 2021.

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Flake was emphatic Sunday that he is still as conservative and Republican as ever. He indicated that he simply doesn’t want another four years of President Trump at the expense of the country, so he’s voting for Harris.

“I would encourage any Republicans who feel that way to do the same,” Flake said. “After all, in times like these, there is nothing more conservative than putting country over party.”

Flake isn’t the only prominent Republican who won’t be on the ballot next to Trump’s name this election.

Liz Cheney, the former GOP representative from Wyoming, endorsed Harris earlier this month and suggested that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, would also vote for Harris.

Jimmy McCain, the son of former senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said the Trump campaign incident at Arlington National Cemetery prompted him to publicly support Harris.

Mitt Romney, a former governor, senator and Republican presidential candidate, also said he would not vote for Trump in November. However, Romney did not directly endorse Harris and did not become involved in her campaign when they contacted her in the hope that he would support her, they say The Washington Post.

The alleged reason for Romney’s hesitation is particularly frightening. People close to the former lawmaker who was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack told the post He fears that Trump supporters could jeopardize the “safety of his family” if he supported Harris.

Cheney explained at an event in Wisconsin last week why she thought it was important to publicly support Harris.

“I think this is going to be an incredibly – potentially unbelievably – close race,” she said. “I hope it’s not like that, but it could be. And it’s really, really important, if you really believe – as I do – that Donald Trump is too dangerous to ever be near the Oval Office again, then I think it’s our duty to go a step further and actually voting for Vice President Harris.”