WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican opponents, will join Democrat Kamala Harris on Thursday at a campaign event in Wisconsin aimed at reaching moderate voters and riling up the Republican nominee .
Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s scorn and effectively banishing herself from her own party.
Cheney lost her seat in the House of Representatives to a Trump-backed candidate two years ago and last month she endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee. The two women will appear together at a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings in 1854 to oppose the expansion of slavery led to the birth of the Republican Party.
Harris opens a two-day stint in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump himself will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates battle for victories in the so-called “blue wall” battleground states, which include Pennsylvania.
Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing laying out prosecutors’ case against Trump over his effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has denied guilty of conspiracy and obstruction charges.
It is unusual, to say the least, for a candidate to give a nod to the origins of the opposing party in the final weeks of a presidential campaign. Not only that, the name Cheney was once anathema to Democrats who deplored Dick Cheney, Liz’s father, for his role as vice president under George W. Bush.
But now both Cheneys are backing Harris, who is part of a group of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were concerned about Trump’s unwillingness to relinquish power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud.
Harris will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, on Friday and continue her tour of so-called “blue wall” states that have been crucial to Democratic victories in presidential races. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Joe Biden won them in 2020.
Trump will hold a rally on Thursday in Saginaw County, a city in the center of the state.
The Republican candidate has increased his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago. In 2020, Biden’s victory in Saginaw County contributed to his victory in the state by just under 303 votes.
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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.
