“Yes, I would appoint a Republican in my Cabinet,” Vice-president Kamala Harris told CNN’s Dana Bash in a sit-down interview last Thursday. She said she has not yet thought of “anyone in particular,” but she may pick from her large array of “Republicans for Harris,” a list that just hit more than 107,000 followers on X.
Launched only a month ago, the group has gained support from Republicans discontented with Donald Trump’s work and behavior and Project 2025, which is a sneak preview of the GOP candidate’s agenda for the 2024 election. “Republicans for Harris” is “a campaign within the campaign” that aims to bring together as many voters as possible, among the uncommitted, the independents, and Republicans aligned with former candidate Nikki Haley, who are crucial to win on November 5.
On August 16, they held a Zoom call to meet “Kamala’s curious,” as one of the organizers, Reed Howard, called them—“people who love their country more than their party.” More than 70,000 people attended the videoconference.
At the head of this group there are former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, who served on the House panel that investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election; former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former adviser to Bush and homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to Trump’s Vice President, Mike Pence, Olivia Troye. They all spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, together with the Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles, and former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.
They all come from different backgrounds. Some covered White House roles, others were federal attorneys or former State Governors. But they came together to vote for Harris because, “the alternative is simply untenable.”
Some previously worked for either former President George W. Bush, late Arizona Senator John McCain or Utah Senator Mitt Romney. 238 alumni endorsed Ms. Harris in an open letter, including former McCain chiefs of staff Mark Salter and Chris Koch and former legislative director for McCain, Joe Donoghue. The animosity that existed between McCain, Romney, and Bush supporters and MAGA is no secret. McCain’s widow Cindy endorsed President Biden in 2020. But Senator Romney and former President Bush have yet to publicly endorse Harris in the 2024 elections. Trump campaign spokesperson Steve Cheung declared the letter as “hilarious, because nobody knows who these people are.”
Some others are Republican attorneys who worked for former President Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Under the lead of former federal appellate Judge Michael Luttig, a dozen of them signed an open letter to endorse Harris.
In addition to the above-mentioned, there are also:
- Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman.
- Jim Swift, a former Republican operative who is now senior editor of The Bulwark, an anti-Trump news and opinion site.
- Former McCain campaign strategist Mike Murphy.
- Reed Galen, McCain’s deputy campaign manager and co-founder of the Lincoln Project.
- Press secretary for McCain’s 2008 campaign Jennifer Lux.
- Longtime chief of staff for Bush Jean Becker.
- Romney’s 2012 campaign finance chair David Nierenberg.
- Under secretary of Energy for George H.W. Bush David Garman.
- John B. Bellinger III, Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the NSC under George W. Bush.
- Phillip D. Brady, Deputy Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- Benedict S. Cohen, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- Peter D. Keisler, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- and Robert M. Kruger, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- John M. Mitnick, Associate Counsel to the President and Deputy Counsel White House Homeland Security Council under George W. Bush
- Alan Charles Raul, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan and General Counsel, OMB under Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
- Nicholas Rostow, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Legal Adviser to the NSC under Reagan and George H.W. Bush
- Peter J. Rusthoven, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- David B. Waller, Senior Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- Wendell L. Willkie II, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.
- Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar.
- Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.
- Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
- Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
- Former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin.
- Craig Snyder, founder of “Haley Voters for Harris.”
- Former GOP state chair and state Senator Chris Vance of Washington.
- Reed Howard of “Young Republicans for Harris.”
- Former Republican National Committee (RNC) delegate Rina Shah.
- Jennifer Horn, former New Hampshire Republican Party Chair.
- Rod Chandler of Washington.
- Tom Coleman of Missouri.
- Dave Emery of Maine.
- Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland.
- Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania.
- John LeBoutillier of New York.
- Susan Molinari of New York.
- Jack Quinn of New York.
- Municipal chairman of the Republican Party in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Matthew McCaffery. For publicly declaring that he is voting for the Democratic nominee, he was ousted by a unanimous vote of the Montgomery County Republican Committee.
- Denver Riggleman of Virginia. He was once a member of the House Freedom Caucus and served as a consultant to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack.
- Former Reagan administration employee and former chair of Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign in New Hampshire, Claira Monier.
- Former Republican candidate for Congress, James Steiner.
- Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island.
- Christopher Shays of Connecticut.
- Peter Smith of Vermont.
- Alan Steelman of Texas.
- David Trott of Michigan.
- Joe Walsh of Illinois.
