Former Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican who served in the House for 30 years and will retire in 2022 after voting to impeach former President Donald J. Trump, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday. He became the latest Republican figure to cross party lines and endorse Republican policies. she.
Upton said in a statement that the former president is “unfit to serve as commander-in-chief again” and blamed him for the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol, adding, “He is a leader from an administration. directly jeopardized the peaceful transition of the United States.” to the next. ”
Mr. Upton, 71, said he had already voted for Ms. Harris, the first time in his life he had voted for a Democrat in a presidential election, and said he was confident she would work to “bring people together.” .
He argued that it was long past time for Republicans to abandon Trump.
“Respected Republican leaders have repeatedly implored the former president to focus on governing, not personal attacks, untruths, and continued false claims in the 2020 election,” he said. “Instead of heeding that advice, we see unacceptable and uninhibited behavior in most forums almost every day.”
Harris hopes that support from Upton, a moderate Republican in a key battleground state, will help sway Michigan voters she needs to draw away from Trump to win. She supported Nikki Haley in the primary and is working to appeal to Republican voters who may be reluctant to support Trump but are unsure whether to vote Democratic.
Ed Duggan, the Michigan state director for the Harris campaign, called Upton’s endorsement “a courageous and honorable decision to put country over party.”
The campaign has spent tens of millions of dollars on paid media campaigns targeting anti-Trump Republicans and surrogates like Upton, who are willing to speak out against Trump and support Harris. Courting lifelong Republicans. .
Ms. Harris appeared in suburban Detroit earlier this week with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., where Ms. Cheney passionately appealed to conservative voters like herself not to support Mr. Trump.
“To all the Republicans who think they might vote for Donald Trump because of his national security policies, I ask you to please study his national security policies,” Cheney said in Michigan. spoke. “Not only is it not Republican, it’s dangerous.”
Harris’ campaign is contesting across Michigan, opening offices in red counties that Trump won by double digits four years ago. The goal is to narrow the margin there and grab a victory.
And in suburbs like the ones Ms. Harris accompanied Ms. Cheney to, the campaign sees an opportunity to win over female voters. A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that 9% of registered Republicans said they planned to vote for Harris, up from 5% in the previous poll. Harris’ campaign is trying to increase that number to double digits.
In Congress, Upton served as Republican vice chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.
When Mr. Upton announced his retirement, Mr. Trump celebrated. “Upton quits! Four lost, six left,” he said in a statement, referring to the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Ta. “The other players have lost big, but who’s next?”
