Former Sen. Jeff Flake is the latest Republican to ditch Donald Trump and endorse Kamala Harris.
Flake, now the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, described himself in a video statement Sunday as a “conservative Republican” who knows “firsthand” of Tim Walz and Harris’ “fine character and love of country.”
That, the ex-lawmaker said, should be enough for Republicans to support the duo over Trump, whose political ambitions are largely based on his own personal “grievances of the past.”
Jeff Flake, right, served a single term in the U.S. Senate that overlapped with Donald Trump’s presidency. They were photographed together above in 2017.
Reuters
“I want to support a presidential candidate who seeks to unite our country, rather than one who divides us,” Flake said.
Flake, 61, indicated his decision was partially driven by Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” he told ABC News on Sunday.
The ambassador represented Arizona in the House and Senate for a combined 18 years between 2001 and 2019. He was a vocal critic of Trump in Congress, but often voted in favor of the then-president’s policies. He was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey by Harris in 2021.
Kamala Harris was central to Jeff Flake’s swearing in ceremony when he became the U.S. ambassador to Turkey in 2021.
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
Flake was emphatic Sunday that he’s still as conservative and Republican as he’s ever been. He indicated he just doesn’t want another four years of President Trump at the country’s expense, so he’s voting for Harris.
“I would encourage all Republicans who feel this 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 bubbling next to Trump’s name on ballots this election.
Liz Cheney, the former GOP representative from Wyoming, endorsed Harris earlier this month and indicated that her dad, the former vice president Dick Cheney, would also be voting for Harris.
Jimmy McCain, the son of the former senator and GOP presidential nominee John McCain, said the Trump campaign’s incident at Arlington National Cemetery was what pushed him to publicly endorse Harris.
Mitt Romney, the former governor, senator, and Republican nominee for president, also said he won’t vote for Trump in November. Romney has stopped short of outright backing Harris, however, and did not engage with her campaign when they reached out in hopes he’d endorse, reported The Washington Post.
The reported reason for Romney’s hesitation is particularly chilling. Those close to the former lawmaker, who was inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, told the Post he fears that Trump supporters may endanger the “safety of his family” if he were to endorse Harris.
Cheney explained at an event in Wisconsin last week why she felt it was important for her to go as far as backing Harris publicly.
“I think this is going to be an incredibly—potentially incredibly—close race,” she said. “I hope it’s not, but it could be. And so it really, really matters if you really believe—as I do—that Donald Trump is too dangerous to ever again be near the Oval Office, then I think it’s incumbent upon us to go the extra step and actually cast a vote for Vice President Harris.”
