Liz Cheney has endorsed Kamala Harris. Here’s why it’s such a big deal.
Given Liz Cheney’s longtime staunchly anti-Trump stance, it’s not a surprise that she ended up endorsing Kamala Harris for President today. But it is a big deal. Why? Just look at the framing that Cheney used when announcing today that she’ll be voting for Harris.
Liz Cheney reiterated that she’s a political conservative, and that she’s voting for Kamala Harris specifically in the name of stopping Trump from returning to power. Cheney doesn’t agree with Harris on almost any domestic policy or political ideology, and she’s not going to pretend she does. Instead Cheney is simply saying that for patriotic conservatives like her, this election isn’t about political ideology or the issues. It’s about finishing off Trump.
Liz Cheney has just given permission to other anti-Trump conservatives in her position to go ahead and vote for the Democratic candidate this one time, in order to preserve our democracy. If you think there aren’t any anti-Trump conservatives left, keep in mind that nearly half of the registered Republicans who voted in the 2024 Republican presidential primary voted for someone other than Trump when there were still other choices on the ballot – and Trump was still only able to get about 80% of the Republican primary vote even once he was running unopposed.
Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are going to help Kamala Harris tap into the niche of anti-Trump conservative Republicans who are trying to figure out what to do in 2024. They’re not a huge group, but they’re sizable enough to make a difference in the outcome. And this surely isn’t a one-off. We can probably expect to see Liz Cheney out on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris before too much longer. This is going to be fun.
