Ex-Trump GOP backer returns to stump for Harris in N.H.
Aug. 26—CONCORD — Former Illinois Republican Congressman and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Walsh said GOP officials are joining Democratic nominee Kamala Harris's campaign in growing numbers due to the belief she can defeat former President Donald Trump.
During a telephone interview Monday, Walsh said he had been on board in support of President Joe Biden's bid for a second term, but his withdrawal and Harris's replacement was causing more who had been on the sidelines to come forward.
"This past weekend I have been inundated by calls from Republicans around the country wanting to know about Republicans for Harris and how can they get involved," Walsh said.
On Monday night, Walsh returned to New Hampshire for a Harris campaign house party at the Concord home of Jim Steiner.
A former GOP candidate for Congress, Steiner earlier this month agreed to lead a N.H. GOP group for Harris along with former New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Claira Monier of Goffstown.
"To me it is very interesting that many in Donald Trump's cabinet including his vice president won't even endorse him," Steiner said during an interview.
"To me that is all capital letters there is a character flaw with this guy. Democracy really is on the line."
Republican State Chairman Chris Ager said Trump's support among Republicans here is very strong and it was Harris who has had to spend the last month trying to close an "enthusiasm gap" the Democrats had with Biden as their standard bearer.
In 2020, Walsh finished a distant fourth in the New Hampshire GOP presidential primary with 838 votes; then-President Trump easily won with nearly 130,000 ballots.
Jack Middleton, the former president of the New Hampshire Bar Association and an attorney general, became the latest among prominent state Republicans and independents to endorse Harris.
Middleton, a Marine Corps veteran, is the most senior practicing lawyer in the state, a founder and past president of the state bar and the second from New Hampshire to ever serve as an officer with the American Bar Association.
"I'm a Republican with a deep love for country who has dedicated my life to upholding the rule of law and protecting the democratic values we hold dear — a background antithetical to everything Donald Trump stands for," Middleton said in a statement.
"While I don't agree with Vice President Harris on every issue, I know she is a tough as nails prosecutor who's ready to protect our country and defend our democracy."
Gregory Smith, a lifelong independent voter, served as attorney general under former Gov. John H. Sununu and backed John McCain's presidential campaigns that won two GOP primaries in New Hampshire.
I believe it is my duty as an American who cherishes our Constitution to do everything I can to oppose the election of Donald Trump," Smith said.
Walsh said he attended his first Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week.
"It was weird, but in a good way," Walsh quipped.