Pennsylvania is the epicenter of the political world, and a group of GOP politicians and activists supporting Kamala Harris say the vice president's campaign will be boosted there by support from other Republicans disillusioned by Donald Trump, who former Rep. Jim Greenwood, R-Pa., described Monday as a "malignant narcissist" and "pathological liar."
Greenwood was one of three co-hosts of a "Republicans for Harris" Zoom call that marked the beginning of the group's efforts to deliver the commonwealth for the Democratic nominee. He was joined by former Lancaster County GOP chair Anne Womble and Andrea Kesack, a pathologist and self-described "moderate Republican." All of them agreed that Trump's effect on American politics and democracy far outweighed any policy disagreements they had with Harris.
"This is a campaign in which policy is important, but it's secondary to character, and the contrast between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could not be more stark," Greenwood said. "She is a thoughtful woman, she is a public servant, she is honest, she has integrity and I believe the ability to reach across the aisle and get things done that are in the best interest of the country."
Womble, who like Greenwood is a lifelong Republican and supported every GOP presidential candidate before Trump, said that many Pennsylvanians she knows are outraged to see Trump's "atrocious behavior" and how he "flagrantly flaunts the law and finds all kinds of ways to manipulate it in his favor." Many of her fellow Republicans voted for Nikki Haley over Trump in the GOP primary, she said, making it imperative that pro-Harris forces ramp up efforts to get those voters to back the Democratic ticket in November. Staying home, writing-in a different candidate or voting third party would not do any good, the meeting's hosts emphasized.
"I know this election will be won at the margins by Republicans and independents like like us in Pennsylvania — it's going to be won by convincing many of the 158,000 voters who voted for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary to cast their votes for Kamala Harris," Womble said. "This time, Donald Trump doesn't want those voters, and he said so he's further alienated them by doubling down on his extremism and picking a cruel and phony running mate in JD Vance. They want to cast a vote for a president that behaves like a normal human being and works across the aisle for the betterment of the country."
Kesack, the third co-host of the meeting, cited Trump's racist comments and policies against women's reproductive freedom as a key reason for why she is choosing Harris over Trump.
"I know I am not alone among millions of women across the political spectrum, including independents and Republicans like myself, who are outraged by Donald Trump's push to control our bodies and taking away women's hard-won rights to choose for themselves," Kesack said. "Trump's policies were not driven by rationality or empathy. They never were, but now, over a third of women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban, many that leave no exceptions for rape or incest."
The group plans to expand its outreach in the coming weeks, all three hosts saying that they were aware of the challenges of persuading Republicans to support a candidate who they may disagree with on a range of issues. While some Democrats are disappointed in Harris for changing her position on issues like fracking, arguing that the policy is harmful and not actually that popular even among Pennsylvanians, pro-Harris Republicans suggest that a willingness to "evolve" and support "energy independence" will help her appeal to voters in the center.
"The first thing is to listen to them," Womble said. "You know, listen to what people are saying, what their hesitations may be, what their perceptions may be of Vice President Harris, and then kind of go from there ... We're seeing that the vice president is coming out these days with new positions on some issues that she did not hold or did not articulate in her brief run for president in 2020 and I think that's a sign — I think it's a very positive sign — for some of these Nikki Haley voters who want to hear that she understands the pragmatic nature of governing an entire country as opposed to being, you know, a senator, a representative from only the state of California."
The Republicans' support for Harris doesn't necessarily mean they're voting for Democrats down-ballot, however. Greenwood said he still plans to back Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia-area Republican, for re-election over his Democratic opponent, saying the lawmaker can "work across the aisle." Fitzpatrick, for his part, has demurred on whether he would endorse Trump for a second term or not, and Democrats have criticized him for hedging. Haley, meanwhile, has sought to distance herself from any Republicans opposing Trump, having already thrown her support behind the former president.
