Almost 30 former Republican members of Congress endorse Biden as they move against Trump ahead of RNC
NEARLY 30 former Republican senators, congressmen and women joined together in a “Republicans for Biden” effort on Monday.
The list of supporters was released by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign on the first day of the Republican National Convention.
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The effort is to engage potential GOP supporters for Biden during the 2020 presidential election, Fox News reported.
An official from the Biden campaign told the news outlet that the endorsement from over two dozen Republicans is a “strong rebuke” of the Trump administration.
Listed in the “Republicans for Biden” effort are several critics of President Donald Trump including former Republican Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona, Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, and John Warner of Virginia.
Joining them are former Representatives Steve Bartlett (Texas), Bill Clinger (Pennsylvania), Tom Coleman (Missouri), Charlie Dent (Pennsylvania), Charles Djou (Hawaii), Mickey Edwards (Oklahoma), Wayne Gilchrest (Maryland), Jim Greenwood (Pennsylvania), Bob Inglis (South Carolina), Jim Kolbe (Arizona), Steve Kuykendall (California), Ray LaHood (Illinois), Jim Leach (Iowa), Connie Morella (Maryland), Mike Parker (Mississippi), Jack Quinn (New York), Claudine Schneider (Rhode Island), Chris Shays (Connecticut), Peter Smith (Vermont), Alan Steelman (Texas), Bill Whitehurst (Virginia), Dick Zimmer (New Jersey), and Jim Walsh (New York).
Also on Monday, the Biden campaign released an advertisement saying only Biden and Kamala Harris, his pick for vice president, can “heal America.”
“We need a team that’s up to the task,” the narrator says. “Leaders who can rally the nation to fight this virus, to not only rebuild our economy, but build it back better.
“To address the threat of climate change, and to root out systemic racism.”
“Together they’ll lead America, unite America, and heal America.”
The campaign’s efforts strategically launched at the start of the Republican National Convention.
An official for the Biden campaign told Fox News that the former Republicans of Congress are supporting Biden’s ticket “because they know what’s at stake in this election and that Trump’s failures as president have superseded partisanship.”
Reaching out to Republican voters who may support Biden in the fall, the campaign is encouraging Republicans to get together in their communities through a “Vote Joe” app.
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In response to the release of Republican supporters, Trump’s campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh criticized Biden in a statement to Fox News.
“Joe Biden has been a failure in the Washington Swamp for a half century, so no one should be surprised with Swamp creatures gather to protect one of their own,” he said.
Murtaugh also claimed that the president has 95 percent support among “real Republican voters.”