Liz Cheney to Campaign with Kamala Harris at the Birthplace of the Republican Party
Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Ripon, Wisconsin — the birthplace of the Republican Party — where she will campaign with former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney. It’s the highest-profile endorsement of a Democratic nominee from Cheney to date in a rare moment of bipartisan echo against former President Donald Trump.
A Touchstone: Ripon, Wisconsin
Ripon is a small town in Wisconsin — and the birthplace of the Republican Party in 1854, making it a fitting choice for Wednesday morning’s event. Harris and Cheney will use the Symbolic Location to target Republicans and independents who are alienated from Trump-style politics.
Cheney’s Stand Against Trump
Since Trump tried to reverse the 2020 election, Liz Cheney — a dyed-in-the-wool conservative — has been the President’s most prominent antagonist. Cheney’s anti-Trump posture, including her participation in the House select committee probing the Capitol attack last January 6 center, cratered her political fortunes inside the Republican Party and helped destroy and a seat are aptly belonged to it.
Cheney voiced her dire worries about the former president’s threat to democracy in a speech last week at Duke University, and declared it is her obligation to keep Trump out of the White House. ‘No way am I voting for Trump, but I will vote for Kamala Harris … [and so on, and so forth].
Harris, Rep. Cheney: An Unlikely Alliance
Cheney and Harris may not see eye to eye on most political matters but they are joined in their opposition to Trump. The two women, who rarely crossed paths in Congress, talked by phone in the summer about Cheney’s backing of Harris. Their Wisconsin event is meant to help Biden court Republican voters unhappy with Trump’s stewardship but not motivated by Democratic policy ideas.
More of a Coalition for Harris
Cheney’s endorsement also followed several other Republicans backing Harris, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and top party figures like Adam Kinzinger and Jeff Flake. That media scrutiny is necessary for her to turn a corner in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan — some of the most critical swing regions that decide who will be president.
Harris has worked to move to the middle, drawing attention to issues such as border security and economic security. The shift in medical-aid-for-dying strategy is an attempt to allay fears from more-moderate and conservative voters that she will not govern as a pro-choice leader (she framed judicial reasons for the veto).
Reactions Inside the Democratic Party
However, this is not a universal Democratic approach. Harris has taken heat from fellow Democrats who believe she’s tacking too closely to the center and relying too much on Republican endorsements —like Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, who said yesterday that Harris needs ‘change’ her obvious dependence on the right (she has a point). Romman fears Democrats would pay a price with their base for moving to the right, over the head of Republicans.
Analysis: A Boon or Bust Strategy in a Squeaky Close Race
Harris and Cheney’s joint campaign event comes less than five weeks before Election Day, a risky bid to sway undecided Republican and independent voters. Amid a notoriously polarized political climate, the unlikely alliance highlights this schism within the Republican Party and attempts to coalesce against the power of Trump. It remains to be seen whether this strategy will work in key swing states, but the Harris-Cheney partnership has certainly emerged as one of strangest surprises of 2024.