Former Republican Senator Breaks Party Lines, Endorses Kamala Harris in ‘Stark Choice’ Election
Three more Republicans have crossed the aisle to support Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
Former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., former Kansas state senator and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, and retired federal judge Deanell Reece Tacha all blasted the GOP’s current position in a statement released to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“This election provides a difficult option for all of us. The Republican Party of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bob Dole, Frank Carlson, Jan Meyers, and generations of Kansas leaders do not exist in today’s Republican Party,” the former politicians said.
“But, it requires Republicans speaking out and putting country over party when those values are at stake.”They also stated that the campaign between Harris and former President Trump posed a “stark choice,” albeit not an easy one.
“No candidate is perfect, and we do not pretend that we subscribe to all the policy positions taken either by the national parties or any individual candidates,” they said.
“However, we strongly feel that we must do our part to help construct a better future, which is why we will vote for Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz] in this election. We believe they best reflect Kansans’ goals and our great history of working together ‘to the stars through adversity.'”
Nonetheless, all three have supported Democrats in previous elections.
Kassebaum, who now goes by Nancy Kassebaum Baker, served in the United States Senate from December 1978 until January 1997.
She was the first woman elected to represent Kansas in the chamber, and she previously served as chair of the Senate Labor Committee.
Former President Reagan nominated Tacha to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 1985, where he served as chief judge from 2001 to 2008.
From 2003 to 2015, Praeger served as Kansas’ insurance commissioner.
Harris’ team has made a point of engaging Republicans in an attempt to broaden her appeal and portray Trump as an extreme and divisive candidate.
The majority of Republicans, particularly those still in office, back Trump.
However, numerous prominent Republicans have backed the vice president. Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and senior Trump administration aides Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye have all publicly expressed support for Harris.
Troye was one of several persons who led a Republicans for Harris event Thursday, including former Virginia lawmakers Barbara Comstock and Denver Riggleman, both Republicans.
A recent Marist College survey shows Harris and Trump tied in three key states.
In North Carolina, the two candidates are equal at 49%, but Trump has a little lead over Harris in Georgia and Arizona, where he has a 50% to 49% margin.
The statewide polls were taken from September 19 to 24.
When asked for comment on the Kansas Republicans’ endorsement, the Harris team forwarded Fox News Digital a broader statement about the Republicans for Harris project.
“The Vice President is bringing together voters from across the political spectrum by running a campaign about freedom, democracy, and opportunity,” said National Republican Outreach Director Austin Weatherford.
“Our Republicans for Harris program is spreading that unifying and uplifting message to anti-Trump Republicans, moderates, and independents. While we have seen an increase in support, we are not taking anyone for granted.”
The Trump team remarked of Harris’s endorsement, “Nobody knows who these people are, and nobody cares.”