Mayor of Republican Stronghold Endorses Kamala Harris
October 24, 2024
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The mayor of Waukesha in Wisconsin, a key Republican stronghold, has endorsed Kamala Harris.
Mayor Shawn Reilly, who has been mayor of Waukesha since 2014, said in an interview that his endorsement is a “vote against Trump.”
“It’s difficult. The easy thing to do is just not say anything and cast my vote the way I want, but I think we’re at a crossroads now,” Reilly told Fox6 News. “I feel in my heart that this is something that I need to come out and say: I am going to be voting for Vice President Harris to become our next president.”
He added: “It is a vote against Trump. I am terrified of Donald Trump becoming our next president for all the reasons I have indicated: he’s already been impeached twice. He’s been convicted of felonies and this is not what the United States needs.”
Newsweek has contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment.
Reilly grew up a Republican and said he votes that way “more often than not,” but voted third party in 2016 and for President Joe Biden in 2020 but kept that to himself. He also left the Republican Party in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol riots, saying that he was “ashamed” to have been a member of the GOP.
“I’m going to put up with repercussions for this,” he said following his Harris endorsement. “There’s going to be a lot of people who are not happy with what I say, and there will be a lot of people who are happy with what I have to say. But when you’re in this job, that’s your daily life, anyways.”
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the vice president’s residence in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Harris has been endorsed by over 100 Republicans. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the vice president’s residence in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Harris has been endorsed by over 100 Republicans. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Reilly has previously said that he does not plan on running again after his term ends in 2026. He was re-elected as mayor of Waukesha in 2022.
But despite Reilly’s support in Waukesha, voters in the city elected Trump in both 2016 and 2020, albeit by a narrow margin.
In 2016, the former president won the city by 11 points. In 2020, the lead shrunk to 5.5 points, when he won around 60 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, in 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won 66 percent of the vote in the city, while Republican Governor Scott Walker won 66 percent in 2018 and 72 percent in 2014.
Trump’s share of the vote could reduce even further this year amid a very tight race in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin, which has 10 electoral votes.
Harris is currently 0.4 points ahead in the state, according to FiveThirtyEight, while pollster Nate Silver’s tracker puts her 0.6 points ahead. RealClearPolitics’ tracker puts Trump ahead in the state by 0.1 points.
Reilly’s endorsement follows those of other prominent Republicans. Last month, former Republican Representative Liz Cheney endorsed Harris.
“As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. And because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” Cheney said at Duke University.
Days later, Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, said he planned to vote for Harris, as well.
Former Republican President Gerald Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, also recently endorsed Harris. Bales is a registered Republican.
“She recognizes the good and the greatness in our country,” Ford Bales said of Harris.
“I know she will defend the rule of law and our Constitution. And I know she will work to bring all Americans together to move us beyond partisanship.
“That is what America deserves from our president.”
Other Republicans, including the son of former presidential nominee and Senator John McCain, as well as former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake and former Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci, have also endorsed Harris.
In September, over 100 ex-Republican members of Congress and national security officials from the Reagan, H.W. Bush, W. Bush and Trump administrations signed a letter endorsing Harris.
Among the 111 signatories were former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and William S. Cohen; Robert B. Zoellick, former World Bank president; ex-CIA directors Michael V. Hayden and William H. Webster; former director of national intelligence John D. Negroponte; and former Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld. Two former Trump administration officials, Miles Taylor and Olivia Troye, also signed the letter.
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