Kamala Harris Gets New Republican Endorsement From Critical Swing State

Vice President Kamala Harris received a new Republican endorsement from a critical swing state on Sunday as former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake endorsed her for president.
Flake is the latest in a number of prominent current and former Republicans who have emerged as some of Harris’ most ardent supporters as the Democratic presidential nominee looks to win over conservative and moderate voters put off by former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, ahead of this year’s election.
Flake, a Republican who has long been critical of Trump, announced in a post on X, formerly Twitter, his endorsement of Harris and wrote,” I’ll be supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @Tim_Walz for Vice President.”
“I’m a conservative Republican who had the honor to serve my home state of Arizona in the United States House of Representatives and Senate for nearly two decades. I believe that America is a great country. I believe that our best days lie ahead. I want to support a candidate for President who believes the same,” Flake said in a statement.
The former senator added: “I believe that we don’t have to agree on every issue or policy, but that we should use the political process created by our Founders to debate and persuade, not disparage and demonize. For all of these reasons, I’ll be supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President. I would encourage all Republicans who feel this way to do the same. After all, in times like these, there is nothing more conservative than putting country over party.”
In 2021 ahead of Congress’ joint session, Flake encouraged his fellow Republicans to stand up to Trump and his efforts to block the certification of the 2020 election results.
“It is hard to comprehend how so many of my fellow Republicans were able — and are still able — to engage in the fantasy that they had not abruptly abandoned the principles they claimed to believe in,” Flake wrote in an op-ed at the time published in The New York Times.
After serving six terms in the House of Representatives and six years in the Senate, the lifelong Republican decided not to seek a second term in the Senate after the GOP embraced Trump. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey after President Joe Biden nominated him in 2021, assuming the post in 2022.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ and Trump’s campaign via email for comment.
Flake’s endorsement comes at a time when the vice president could use a boost in Arizona, a critical swing state with 11 Electoral College votes.
Battleground states, including Arizona, will play a key role in determining the result of this year’s election due to the Electoral College, which awards each state a certain number of electoral votes based on population. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, and winning the national popular vote does not guarantee success. Surveys from battleground states may be more telling than those of national polls.
Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close battle for the White House nationally, however Trump is slightly ahead in Arizona.
According to a poll from USA TODAY/Suffolk University released on Friday, Trump has a 6-point lead over Harris in Arizona—48 to 42 percent. The poll was conducted between September 21 and 24 with 500 voters polled statewide and has a 4.4 percent margin of error.
This poll was released on the same day Harris made her first campaign visit to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a rally in Arizona.
Immigration is a key issue in Arizona, with 21 percent of the USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll respondents saying it is their priority issue. Per a Fox News poll released on September 26, 56 percent of respondents said they trust Trump to do a better job on border security compared to 41 percent of respondents who feel as though Harris is stronger on that issue.
When asked about Harris’ and her stance on immigration on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday, Flake said, “I’m happy that she went to the border, and I was pleased to hear what she had to say if she wants to have a tougher policy than the Biden administration has employed. One thing she brings to the table is she knows how to work on a bipartisan basis, and if we do immigration reform that endures, it’s going to have to be bipartisan.”
Harris’ primary immigration policy is a call to bring back the bipartisan border bill, which was blocked by Senate Republicans, including Trump’s running mate JD Vance of Ohio, after the former president took a stance against it in a bid to bring immigration to the forefront throughout the election.
Meanwhile, Trump’s lead over Harris in the new poll mirrors several other polls released over the past week that have shown him gaining ground in Arizona, although a poll released by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult on Thursday found that Harris had a 3-point lead over the former president.
The overall polling picture in Arizona suggests that the presidential race remains close, with an average of recent polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight showing the former president leading the vice president by 1.2 percent as of Sunday.
This comes as Biden narrowly defeated Trump in 2020, becoming the first Democrat to beat a Republican presidential candidate in Arizona since former President Bill Clinton in 1996.