Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on Wednesday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, the latest high-profile Republican endorsement for Democrats.
Cheney’s comments took place during an appearance at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
“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,” Cheney said in a video of remarks posted to X. The university separately provided a clip of Cheney’s remarks to NBC News.
The former congresswoman said in her remarks that it is “crucially important” for people to understand that people do not have “the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states.”
The Harris campaign welcomed Cheney’s support.
“She is a patriot who loves this country and puts our democracy and our Constitution first,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement Wednesday night. “Vice President Harris will be a president for all Americans, regardless of political party. For any American who is looking to reject the chaos and division of Donald Trump, turn the page, and pursue a new way forward that protects our freedoms and defends the American values we all believe in, there is a place for you in the Harris-Walz coalition, and we will continue working to earn your support.”
Cheney previously served in Republican caucus leadership before being ousted for her criticism of former President Donald Trump. Cheney has also said that Trump would attempt to stay in power beyond four years if he was elected to a second term. In the same interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show with host Savannah Guthrie, Cheney said that she would “never vote for Donald Trump, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that Donald Trump is defeated in 2024.”
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, criticized Cheney during a moderated discussion at an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action on Wednesday night.
“A very good thing that I could say about the next presidency of Donald J. Trump is that he’s going to make sure people like Liz Cheney are laughed out of the Oval Office instead of rewarded,” Vance told moderator Charlie Kirk.
In August, the Harris campaign unveiled more than two-dozen endorsements from Republicans, many of whom are politicians who have been vocally opposed to Trump’s candidacy.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who like Cheney served on the Jan. 6 commission, has also endorsed Harris. He had endorsed President Joe Biden when he was still in the race. Kinzinger spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where he said that Trump has “suffocated the soul” of the GOP.
In 2022, Cheney was ousted in a Republican primary by a Trump-backed challenger. She was first elected to the House in 2016.
Zoë Richards and Nnamdi Egwuonwu contributed.
