‘Republicans for Harris’ launches with support from Chuck Hagel and Melania’s former aide Stephanie Grisham

‘As a national security official and lifelong Republican, I witnessed firsthand the threat Donald Trump poses to our country while working in the Trump White House,’ wrote Olivia Troye, counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence

Kamala Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris” with endorsements from former Donald Trump administration officials and prominent conservatives.

The initiative is “a grassroots organizing program to further outreach efforts to the millions of Republican voters who continue to reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda,” the Harris campaign said in a statement on Sunday.

Notable endorsements include former White House Press Secretary and Melania Trump chief-of-staff Stephanie Grisham, and former homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Olivia Troye.

“As a national security official and lifelong Republican, I witnessed firsthand the threat Donald Trump poses to our country while working in the Trump White House,” Troye wrote. “ The stakes are too high to let partisanship jeopardize our freedoms and the Constitution.”

The group also includes former Obama administration secretaries Chuck Hagel and Ray LaHood; former governors Jim Edgar, Bill Weld, and Christine Todd Whitman; and former lieutenant governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan.

Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston, July 31. Her campaign launched ‘Republicans for Harris’ on August 4 (AP)

Duncan released a statement addressing Trump’s Atlanta rally on Saturday, where the former president accused Georgia’s top Republican officials of trying to hamper his 2024 election race.

“Millions of Americans are fed up with his grievance-filled campaign focused only on himself. Tonight we heard a particularly unhinged, angry version of the same Donald Trump that Georgia rejected in 2020,” Duncan said. “Elections are binary choices. As a lifelong conservative Republican, it was not an easy decision for me to endorse Vice President Harris, but I know that she fights for all Americans, right, left, or center, and will stand up for the Constitution.”

Former GOP members of Congress like Joe Walsh, Tom Coleman, Jim Greenwood, Denver Riggleman, and Adam Kinzinger, have also thrown their support behind Harris.

Kinzinger said: “As a proud conservative, I never thought I’d be endorsing a Democrat for President. But, I know Vice President Harris will defend our democracy and ensure Donald Trump never returns to the White House.”

The initiative is just the latest sign that Harris’ campaign is growing. The presumptive Democratic nominee has already earned support from myriad of groups: venture capitalists, tech entrepreneurs, and even “White Dudes for Harris.”

“Republicans for Harris” will hold kickoff events on Monday in Arizona, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Harris is expected to announce her vice presidential pick before Tuesday. She is holding final interviews at her DC residence with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on Sunday, the New York Times reported.

On Friday, Philadelphia’s mayor released a video encouraging Pennsylvanians to support the state’s Governor Josh Shapiro “for vice president,” sparking speculation that Harris’ pick for running mate had been leaked.