A trio of Kansas Republicans — including a onetime chair of the Senate Labor Committee — have thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris in her 2024 election battle against Donald Trump, calling the Democratic nominee the best choice to lead the country for the next four years.
Former Senator Nancy Kassebaum, who represented the Sunflower State in the upper chamber from 1978 to 1997, has joined ex-Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger and Deanell Reece Tacha, a retired federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan, in offering a formal endorsement of Harris.
In a statement first published by Fox News, the GOP trio said the 2024 election “presents a stark choice that is not easy for any of us” because the Republican Party exemplified by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, longtime Kansas senator Bob Dole, and “generations of Kansas leaders” no longer exists within the Trump-era version of the GOP.
“But, it requires Republicans speaking out and putting country over party when those values are at stake,” they said, adding, “No candidate is perfect, and we do not pretend that we subscribe to all the policy positions taken either by the national parties or any individual candidates.”
“However, we fervently believe that we must do our part to try to build a brighter future, which is why we will be voting for Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz] in this election. We believe they most closely align with the aspirations of Kansans and reflect our rich history of working together ‘to the stars through difficulty.’”
Kassebaum, Praeger and Tacha join a large group of prominent Republicans who’ve publicly expressed support for Harris, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, his daughter and former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger as well as multiple Trump administration officials and appointees who served under the former president.
Austin Weatherford, the national Republican outreach director for the Harris-Walz campaign, told Fox that Harris is “bringing together voters from across the political spectrum by running a campaign about freedom, democracy and opportunity.”
“Our Republicans for Harris program is taking that unifying, inspiring message to anti-Trump Republicans, moderates and independents. While we’re seeing a surge in support, we aren’t taking anyone for granted,” he added.
Kassebaum was the first woman to be elected to the Senate from Kansas and Praeger served as the state’s top insurance official from 2003 to 2015. But in response, a Trump campaign spokesperson claimed that “nobody knows who these people are, and nobody cares.”