As the presidential campaigns enter their final days and the campaigns begin to close, both candidates are ramping up their efforts to win key swing states. This year, one of those key swing states is Wisconsin: America’s Dairyland. Not only is Wisconsin crucial for the presidency this year, it also has a hot senate race occurring with incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin facing challenges from Eric Hovde for the seat. These results could flip the Senate.
On Oct. 3, Liz Cheney, former representative of Wyoming, and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, endorsed Kamala Harris for president. Cheney, a life-long Republican hailing from a famously Republican family, endorsed Kamala Harris and announced that “she is ‘proudly’ casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris” and encouraged others in the battleground state to do the same. Later, her father, former VP Dick Cheney, also vowed to vote for Harris and endorsed her campaign as well.
The location of the rally was of great importance as well. The rally was held in Ripon, Wisconsin, known as the birthplace of the Republican Party. There, a Republican Member of the House endorsed the Democratic VP, for the presidency. Cheney has made enemies within the republican party for voting to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and with the former president for investigating his involvement. Cheney also headed the committee that ultimately advised the justice department to issue criminal charges to the former president.
The Cheneys are just a few of the many high-profile Republicans to endorse Vice President Harris. In September, a list was released of more than a hundred former Republicans swearing to support and endorse Harris, not because of policy agreement, but because they worry for a Trump Presidency. The Cheney endorsements come as a last ditch effort to sway Republican voters to leave their party allegiance and vote for Harris, and with less than five weeks left, both campaigns are pulling out all the stops to get every swing state they can.
rrodri13@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @politico, Instagram
