A few well-known Republicans have switched their votes from the GOP to the Democratic Party to back Vice President Biden in his 2024 rematch against former President Trump. The election is still six months away.
The votes come at a time when most Republicans are beginning to support Trump.
Here are some well-known Republicans who say they’ll vote for Biden over Trump in November, along with some Republicans who don’t agree with them as much.
Republicans are behind Biden
David Geoff
Geoff Duncan, a Republican who used to be Lt. Gov. of Georgia, made news this week when he said he was going to vote for Biden and criticizing other Republicans who “fall in line” with the former president.
Duncan wrote in an opinion piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “It’s disappointing to watch an increasing number of Republicans fall in line behind former president Donald Trump.” He said that the party’s loyalty to Trump gave him “no choice but to pull the lever for Biden.”
Duncan talked about Trump’s past legal problems and said he would vote for “a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass.”
Michael Steele
“I understand why some Republicans say, ‘Oh, I can’t vote for a Democrat.'” That’s not the case here; you’re choosing for your country. “This time, you’re not voting for a Democrat,” Michael Steele, who used to be chair of the Republican National Committee, said in March on MSNBC, where he works as a political analyst.
“I get that some Republicans find it hard to cross the street.” “But, kid, you have to do it,” Steele told her. “Trust me, the country needs you more than your party does.”
Steele also backed Biden in 2020 and worked with The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group.
Adam Kinzinger
Ryan Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who used to be on the House Jan. 6 committee, has said that he would vote for Biden over Trump “in a heartbeat” this November.
Kinzinger told The Guardian this week, “I don’t agree with all of Joe Biden’s policies, but he’s not out to get democracy, so I plan to vote for him.”
When asked if he would choose Biden over Christie, Kinzinger said there is “no question” he would go against his party to support the former president. Christie is another open Trump critic.
Sarah Matthews
Later this year, Sarah Matthews, who used to work for Trump, told The Hill that she would not vote for her old boss, Trump, if she had to choose between him and Biden in November. Instead, she would support the current president.
Matthews said, “I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I would vote for Biden over Trump if he won the GOP nomination.” “I won’t vote for someone who refused to take part in a peaceful handover of power, tried to rig an honest election, and led a crowd to attack the U.S. Capitol.”
After the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, she quit her job.
Early this month, Matthews told CNN’s Jim Acosta that in a second Trump term, “competency and experience” would be “out the window.”
Democrats who haven’t ruled out Biden
Mrs. Cassidy Hutchinson
Another well-known Republican, Cassidy Hutchinson, who used to work for Trump in the White House, said last week that she might vote for Biden in November.
Hutchinson told a crowd at Colorado Mesa University, “I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I would definitely consider voting for Joe Biden this November because he will not seek to destroy our nation.” This was captured on video and shared on the social platform X by Republicans Against Trump. “He has no plans to destroy our Constitution.” He is also the kind of statesman we need in our government officials.
Hutchinson, who used to work as Mark Meadows’s assistant, was the first White House worker to speak in public before the Jan. 6 group.
Mitt Romney
In 2012, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) won the GOP nod for president. Earlier this year, he said that he would not vote for Trump over Biden in November.
“No.” “No, no, absolutely not,” Romney told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” when she asked him about the idea.
“Having a president with such a lack of character would have a huge effect on the character of America,” he said. “And that’s the most important thing to me.”
That being said, it’s not clear if the leaving senator will back the Democratic incumbent.
Liz Cheney
There is a lot of talk about whether former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who has promised to do anything to keep Trump out of office, will officially support Biden this year.
Cheek said in January, “Some conservatives are trying to make this case that Biden is a bigger risk than Trump.”
“I don’t agree with a lot of Joe Biden’s policies.” We can live with bad rules. We can’t live after setting the Constitution on fire.
On the other hand, the former congresswoman from Wyoming has not yet made a public endorsement.
Take a look.
Mark Esper
Mark Esper, who used to be Trump’s Defense Secretary, said he might vote for Biden, but he promised not to vote for his old boss.
Bill Maher asked Esper in March on “Real Time with Bill Maher” if he would vote for the current president. Esper said, “I’m definitely not voting for [Trump], but I’m not there yet.”
Esper spoke out against Trump after his old boss said he fired the Defense secretary in November 2020. People have told him that Trump is a “threat to democracy.”
Democrats who have ruled out both Mike Pence and
Ex-Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News in March, “I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. It should not come as a surprise.”
During this cycle’s Republican primary, Pence ran against Biden, who used to be his running mate. Even though he broke with his old boss, he made it clear that he will not support Biden.
“I’m not going to vote for Joe Biden ever.” “I’m a Republican,” Pence said.
Chris Christie
Chris Christie, who used to support Trump but ran against him for the GOP nomination this time, has said that another term under Trump would be a “vengeance tour” and bad for democracy.
“Now I know for sure that I will not vote for Trump under any circumstances.” I won’t vote for Trump if he’s the only one on the ballot because I know him too well and think he’s not fit to be president of the United States in every way, Christie told The Washington Post last month.
Christie said he didn’t think he could vote for Biden, even though Trump strongly opposed him.
Christie said, “Biden is past his sell-by date.” “Right now, I wouldn’t even dare tell myself, ‘I think Joe Biden could be president,’” she said.
Christie also said it was “pretty stupid” that Biden didn’t reach out to Christie and ask him to back his 2024 run after Christie dropped out of the Republican race.
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who used to be Speaker of the House, said last week that he won’t vote for Trump and will instead write in someone else.
Ryan told Yahoo Finance at the Milken Global Institute Conference that Trump doesn’t have the character to be president because that’s what the job calls for.
“But having said that, I don’t agree with Biden at all on policy,” Ryan said. “Last time I voted, I chose a Republican, and this time I will too.”
Ryan was Mitt Romney’s running mate for president in 2012. Then, he was in charge of the Republican majority in the House during Trump’s first two years in office. He left Congress in 2019, and now he’s one of many vocal Republicans who are against Trump.
For Asa Hutchinson
If you ask former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who also ran for the GOP ticket this year, he won’t back either Trump or Biden.
In a March opinion piece for USA Today, Hutchinson wrote, “I hope there will be those in the trenches who will fight back against this takeover of the Republican Party and who will join the fight to reclaim the future.”
He also said, “Biden’s weak border policies, poor economic record, and slow growth energy policy do not justify reelection.”