Biden leans on Republican backers to beat Trump

Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, was sitting in his car last month when he received a call from President Biden. 

Duncan — a lifelong Republican who has never voted for a Democrat— had just formally endorsed Biden. And the president was calling to thank him.

Surefire GOP endorsements are important for Biden as he tries to win over independents and undecided voters to his side ahead of November.

In the coming months, his campaign will lean heavily on its GOP backers, including Duncan and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — who endorsed the president Wednesday —to make the case against former President Trump.

“As a proud conservative, I have always put democracy and our Constitution above all else. And it’s because of my unwavering support for democracy, that today as a proud conservative, I’m endorsing Joe Biden for reelection,” Kinzinger said in a video put out by the Biden campaign. 

Kinzinger’s endorsement is part of a larger ramp-up of big names expected to become regular faces for Biden in television ads and on the stump ahead of and through the Democratic National Convention.

“This election is about the 10 percent who will either sit on the couch or get out and vote,” Duncan said in an interview with The Hill. “I want to do anything I can do to beat Donald Trump so I can get my Republican Party back. If it takes campaigning for Joe Biden, and doing commercials and speeches, I'm ready to take my medicine and get my party back.” 

Since Nikki Haley dropped out of the GOP primary in March, Biden has tried to win over her supporters, too. The Biden campaign sees Haley voters as potentially critical in states such as Pennsylvania, where the former South Carolina governor won 158,000 votes in the primary. 

“It’s clear that the Biden campaign thinks that moderate, Never Trump Republicans remain an important part of their winning coalition,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. 

It’s not clear such endorsements will make a huge difference. Even some Republicans critical of Trump are doubtful.

“To his credit, former Congressman Adam Kinzinger stood up against Donald Trump when it counted and has consistently been a voice of reason for the bloc of Republicans that have had it with the former president,” said Susan Del Percio, a veteran Republican strategist. “Politically, Adam Kinzinger’s endorsement is nice to have, but it probably does more to help the former congressman stay relevant, than sway votes to Biden.” 

While Del Percio acknowledged that “country over party” will motivate some center-right independents as it did in the match-up between Biden and Trump in 2020, she said it has less traction now that Biden has a record as president. 

“They’ve seen what he’s done, and they don’t particularly like it,” Del Percio said. “They’re not happy with his agenda. The best Biden can hope for now is that they just stay home. 

Another Republican strategist who does not support Trump agreed, saying it was a more successful strategy in 2020 when the president didn’t have a record and voters were looking for an alternative to Trump. 

“Now there’s been enough distance, and there’s quite a bit of amnesia floating around, that I don’t think it sticks as effectively unless it’s someone like Nikki Haley [who] comes out and directly says, ‘Do not support this man. He’s dangerous.’ But the other stuff is background noise, and I don’t think it will do much.” 

Biden’s campaign has gone full throttle to prove otherwise. It recently brought on a Republican outreach director who is focused solely on connecting with independents and moderate Republicans. 

The Biden campaign has also spent “more than 7 figures,” a Biden campaign aide said, communicating directly to swing voters, including two ads targeting Haley voters and anti-Trump Republicans.

Campaign aides also say they are regularly in touch with Republican leaders and organizations that are looking to defeat Trump.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that Anita Dunn, who serves as a senior adviser to Biden, had already met with Cassidy Hutchinson, the former assistant to Trump’s chief of staff, who served as a powerful witness to the Jan. 6 committee. Campaign aides have also spent time on Zoom calls with Republicans who served in Congress to ask them to get involved. 

In a statement Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said Republicans like Kinzinger represent “the countless Americans that Donald Trump’s Republican Party have left behind.”  

“Those Americans have a home in President Biden’s coalition, and our campaign knows that we need to show up and earn their support,” Chavez Rodriguez said. “Congressman Kinzinger’s endorsement doesn’t just make our campaign stronger, it will better equip us to win the hearts and minds of the voters committed to fighting for the future of our democracy and stopping Donald Trump.” 

Duncan said the efforts to lure Republicans over to Biden’s side are helping and “slowly but surely moving the needle.” 

“When push comes to shove, a majority of those folks think we’ve gotta do something,” he said. “I do think as we watch Trump continue to be Trump, and chew on his own words and embarrass the Republican brand, I think that doesn’t sit well.” 

While he said Biden's call to him last month was "classy," he says he’ll go back to voting for the Republican nominee in 2028. 

“But it feels like the right thing to do, right here, right now,” he said.