Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake backs VP Kamala Harris ahead of presidential election
Sep 29, 2024, 9:45 AM
Former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) walks through the halls outside of the Senate Chamber during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol January 21, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris with a little over a month until the general election on Nov. 5, the Harris-Walz campaign announced Sunday.
Flake, who closed out 18 years of service between the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in January 2019, backed Harris two days after she visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Douglas, Arizona. The Republican said that his strong belief in the “rule of law” guided his decision to support Harris, and not his conservative Republican label.
“Most Republicans, like me — I’m not a moderate Republican, I’m a conservative Republican — we believe strongly in the rule of law, and that is a threshold issue,” Flake said in a statement.
I’ll be supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @Tim_Walz for Vice President. My full statement below. pic.twitter.com/6b28mkBPMD
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 29, 2024
This is the second straight presidential election Flake has crossed party lines, having endorsed President Joe Biden for the 2020 election. Flake also opted to vote for an undisclosed third-party candidate in 2016 rather than cast his ballot for 45th President Donald Trump.
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Immigration reform and border policy, top of mind for both presidential hopefuls, were primary factors in Flake’s public endorsement of Harris. The former Arizona senator cited his time serving with Harris on the Senate Judiciary Committee as proof of her competency and desire for real change.
“We’ve seen what needs to be done and, plus, (Harris) was a prosecutor. She was attorney general (of California),” Flake said. “She’s familiar with what goes on at the border and what’s needed.
“You don’t see candidates coming home and saying ‘I’m going to work on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation,’ but we desperately need it. And (Harris) understands that.”
Flake joins a growing list of Arizona Republicans who have pledged support to Harris, with 90 committed as of Sept. 24, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.
ABC News’ FiveThirtyEight has both candidates having a minimal lead within the past week. An Sept. 29 aggregate poll gave Trump (48.0) a 1.2-point advantage over Harris (46.8) whereas a Morning Consult weekly poll (Sept. 19-25) had Harris (50.0) ahead by three points over Trump (47.0).
