Former Brown County Republican Party Chair Mark Becker hosted a “Republicans for Harris” press call on Sunday where he urged Wisconsinites to vote against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election as he no longer represents conservative values in the state.
Becker condemned Trump's refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and feels he is responsible for “encouraging” supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The former GOP chair called Trump a “danger to our country” and urged Wisconsin voters to “reject his extremism” in the 2024 election.
“Personally, Donald Trump has pushed me and so many others away from the party that I once believed in,” Becker said during the press call.
On Thursday, 20 Wisconsin Republicans, including Becker, signed a letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for President. While the letter disagreed with some of Harris’ policies, they felt Trump’s first term betrayed conservative values through “broken promises” and election denialism.
Since the launch of her campaign, Harris has received support from hundreds of Republicans throughout the country. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney endorsed the vice president last month and appeared alongside her at a rally in Ripon, Wisconsin on Oct. 3.
Becker praised Cheney’s appearance in Wisconsin and said he agrees with her remarks that Harris “represents the values” of “honesty and respect for all Americans.”
“There is so much more that unites us than what divides us, [and] Kamala Harris understands that, and that is why she is welcoming everyone, no matter what your political party,” Becker said.
Republican voters still favor Trump in Wisconsin
Despite Harris’ wave of support from GOP members, Republican voters in Wisconsin still largely favor Trump. According to an October Marquette Law School poll, 94% of self-identified Republicans said they would vote for Trump in the 2024 election.
Still, Wisconsin Democrats have been campaigning fiercely to rally voters in all areas of the state by knocking on more than 200,000 doors in counties Trump won in 2020, according to a Harris campaign press release ahead of the press call Sunday.
Despite a lack of support from Republican voters, Harris does have an 11 percentage-point edge with independent voters in the state, a crucial voting block for winning Wisconsin and the election in November.
Small victories are necessary for both Republicans and Democrats to win Wisconsin in the 2024 election. In 2016, Trump won the state by around 0.8% of the vote, while President Joe Biden defeated Trump by around 0.6% in 2020. Harris led Trump by four points in Marquette’s poll, suggesting another close race for Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes in November.
Iain Chang is a senior staff writer at The Daily Cardinal covering state news and politics.
