Ex-Kansas GOP senator backs Harris

Former Kansas Republican Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.) is endorsing Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election, stating the White House contest “presents a stark choice that is not easy for any of us.” 

Kassebaum, who served three terms in the upper chamber, announced her backing of the Democratic nominee in a Thursday statement alongside two other GOP officials, former Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger and retired federal circuit judge Deanell Reece Tacha. 

“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,” the trio said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

“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,” they continued. “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, who chaired the Senate Labor Committee in her last term, has backed Democratic candidates before. She endorsed the current Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) during her gubernatorial run.

“I’m a Republican, but that doesn’t mean you walk lock step always with the party,” Kassebaum said in 2018. 

Harris’s campaign has attempted to sway some Republican officials to expand her base in the lead-up to Election Day. 

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a vocal opponent of former President Trump, said in early September that she would be voting for Harris. A few days later, her father, former GOP Vice President Dick Cheney, confirmed that he would be backing the vice president in the 2024 White House election. 

“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” he wrote in a statement. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”