Among the many political factions supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a group from the other side of the aisle. Republicans for Harris is a national movement that has a handful of local Washingtonians on board.
“As long as Donald Trump defines the Republican Party, I and others are going to stand up and say, ‘Hell no,’ and fight back against it,” Chris Vance told Seattle Now. “We’re a big problem for him.”
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Vance is a former chair of the Washington State Republican Party and former Republican state lawmaker. He spoke with Seattle Now to explain why members of the GOP are crossing the aisle for the 2024 election, but still aren't shedding their Republican ideals.
The national effort is supported by Republicans who oppose Trump and feel their party no longer represents them. They’re primarily targeting battleground states, which Washington is not. Vance explained that these GOP faithful are amplifying similar voices on social media, and at a local level, they're ringing doorbells and making phone calls in support of Harris.
“Republicans for Harris is an actual part of the Harris for President campaign. There is a Republican staffer hired by the Harris campaign to coordinate this, which is historic,” Vance said. “I don’t believe that you’ve had a Democratic political campaign hire Republican operatives to organize Republicans, but that’s how deep and wide the passion is among so many Republicans and former Republicans that Donald Trump can never ever step foot in the Oval Office again, not even as a guest.”
While he was been rooted in GOP politics most of his life, Vance has found himself bouncing between non-Republican political causes since the rise of Trump. After working for other politicians, Vance became a Republican state representative in the 1990s. Between 2001 and 2006, he was chair of the Washington State Republican Party. Trump’s transformation of the GOP led to Vance announcing he was an independent in 2017, and, ultimately, his book “The Fall of the Shining City,” detailing his perspective on how Reagan’s Republican Party has been demolished. Despite standing as an independent over the past few years (running as an independent candidate for Senate) and even favoring Biden in the 2020 election, Vance is again calling himself a Republican as he campaigns for Harris.
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This week, as Democrats gather for their national convention in Chicago, a Republican member of the group is slated to speak each night , including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger from Illinois, Olivia Troye who worked under the Trump administration, and former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. Vance said that former Washington state Congressmember Rod Chandler is the only other Republican from the state who has joined him in this effort.
The primary motivation behind Republicans for Harris is keeping Trump out of the White House.
“It’s not just that Donald Trump is a threat to the Constitution, although that dwarfs everything else,” Vance said, adding that Trump has walked away from Reaganite Republican values and policies, which he says now have a better chance under Harris.
Vance argues that before Trump, Republicans favored immigration reform, a path to citizenship, and acknowledged that immigration is an important part of the economy. The party also previously supported free trade, but Trump’s penchant for tariffs will “destroy the economy, and particularly the Washington state economy, which is so heavily dependent on trade.” Then there’s national security. Vance said Trump is weak on Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said he wouldn’t defend Taiwan, and he doesn’t support NATO or Ukraine.
“That is absolutely 180 degrees from where the Republican Party has always been,” he said. “On national defense and economy, Kamala Harris is actually better than Donald Trump. She will defend NATO and Ukraine and our Asian allies.”
“There are issues where I disagree with the Democrats, or issues where I disagree with Kamala Harris. That’s fine, because the areas where we do agree are far, far more important," he added. "I think they’re wrong on so many issues, but they’re not dangerous. Democrats are not trying to take down the Constitution. Democrats didn’t lead a violent revolt against the government. Democrats aren’t supporting a nominee who is clearly, clearly not qualified to be president.”
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Other Republicans in Washington may speak quite differently about Trump and the state of the GOP. Ahead of the August primary, the Washington State Republican Party endorsed MAGA-friendly candidate Semi Bird for governor (Bird lost the primary with only 11% of the vote; Republican Dave Reichert and Democrat Bob Ferguson are advancing to the November ballot). And after two Washington Republicans in Congress voted in favor of impeaching Trump, they were immediately challenged by their own party. Jaime Herrera Beutler lost the 2022 primary to a MAGA Republican (she is currently running for state commissioner of public lands), and Dan Newhouse has retained his seat in Congress but has had to fend off Republican challengers ever since.
“For so many Republicans nationwide who stood up against Trump, it’s the end of their career in the Republican Party,” Vance said. “I don’t have much of a future in the Republican Party. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. America is important and worth fighting for and it’s time for people to put country before party. But ambition is a hell of a drug, so a lot of people are hesitant to step up and do the right thing.
“I cannot begin to count the number of my old friends who know how dangerous and divisive and incompetent Donald Trump is, but they just don’t want to say it. They kind of just hope it will all go away. Well, it’s not going to go away unless you confront it and defeat it.”
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