UNITED STATES (Forbes) – 27 former Republican members of Congress officially announced on Monday, just a few hours before the opening of the Republican National Convention, that they will be endorsing Joe Biden, who intends to build a wide-ranging coalition in hope of defeating Donald Trump in the November elections.
From 2001 to 2013 Jeff Flake, served in the House of Representatives and as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. He joined “Republicans for Biden” on Monday. A press conference is expected to explain why he’s decided to back the Democratic nominee.
Former Sens. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, John Warner of Virginia, Ray LaHood of Illinois, and Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire are some of the other notable GOP names eschewing support for Trump. “These former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden,” the Biden campaign said in its announcement.
The Trump campaign dismissed the significance of the endorsements, noting that Donald Trump enjoys an overwhelming support from Republicans currently in office throughout the country. “President Trump has unprecedented support—over 95%—among real Republican voters and is also making strong inroads in Biden’s core Democrat constituencies, like Black Americans, Latinos, and union members,” said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.
Several other Republicans endorsed Biden during the Democratic National Convention last week, including former Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released late last month revealed that 13% of voters said their vote is “up for grabs” in the upcoming presidential election. The Biden campaign plans to target the small fraction of the populace that doesn’t actively support either candidate. In addition to getting more registered Democrats to the polls, Biden is hoping to woo dissatisfied Republicans.
In early July, a group of former cabinet secretaries and White House officials who served in the George W. Bush Administration launched a PAC, called “43 Alumni for Biden,” to help elect the former vice president.
The Lincoln Project, now has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, a group of former Republicans who have united Biden. “The founders of the Lincoln Project have spent over 200 years electing Republicans,” their website reads. “But now, they’ve sparked a nationwide movement with a singular mission: To defeat Donald Trump and Trumpism.”
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Flake, Dent, Warner, LaHood, and Humphrey are joined by the following Republican House members: Former Reps. Steve Bartlett of Texas, Bill Clinger of Pennsylvania, Susan Molinari of New York, Tom Coleman of Missouri, Charles Djou of Hawaii, Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma, Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Jim Kolbe of Arizona, Steve Kuykendall of California, Jim Leach of Iowa, Connie Morella of Maryland, Mike Parker of Mississippi, Jack Quinn of New York, Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, Chris Shays of Connecticut, Peter Smith of Vermont, Alan Steelman of Texas, Bill Whitehurst of Virginia, Dick Zimmer of New Jersey and Jim Walsh of New York.
“These former members of Congress are supporting Joe Biden because they know what’s at stake in this election and that Trump’s failures as president have superseded partisanship,” said the Biden campaign.
