“Republicans for Harris” – this is how the campaign carried out as part of Kamala Harris' election campaign is to be called – reports the AP agency. The plan of the current vice president's campaign is to reach out to Republicans who are discouraged by Donald Trump's candidacy.
The idea is to reach out to well-known Republicans who can leverage their contacts and reach voters who previously supported Nikki Haleywhen she was seeking the presidential nomination in the primaries. The first events of this “campaign within a campaign” will take place next week in Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Republicans Harris supporters are expected to attend rallies with her and the politician who will be her vice presidential candidate.
Finding allies on the other side
As AP recalls, former Republican congressman Adam Kinziger supported the candidacy Joe Biden before the current president withdrew from the race. In an official statement, Kinziger now endorsed Harris' candidacy.
Other high-profile Republicans expected to join the campaign include former governors Bill Weld (Massachussets) and Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.), as well as former Defense Secretary and Sen. Chuck Hagel. In addition to Kinziger, more than a dozen other former Republican congressmen who have been critics of Trump in the past are also expected to join. Harris has been endorsed by Trump’s former White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.
Fight for key states
Reuters also reported on Sunday that Harris was strengthening her campaign staff in states where Biden narrowly won in 2020 but where the Democratic victory has recently begun to recede. These states include Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, as well as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, recently in Georgia, attacked the governor of that important state, Brian Kemp, who has maintained his distance from Trump. Trump narrowly lost to Biden in Georgia in 2020 and continues to blame Republican Party officials there for not supporting his belief in alleged election fraud.
Donald TrumpPAP/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
Trump first posted criticism of the governor and his wife on social media. Then, at a rally, he blamed Kemp for his 2000 Georgia loss. “He’s a bad guy, disloyal. And a very average governor,” the former president said.
Kemp responded by calling on Trump to leave his family alone and stop “engaging in petty personal insults.”
Georgia, AP estimates, will be the site of another close presidential race. To win, Trump will need the governor's support as well as support from moderate and conservative voters who support him less than his own electorate.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/EDWARD M. PIO RODA