Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign ramped up its efforts to court Republican votes by inviting several party members to speak at the Democratic National Convention.
On Tuesday night, John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, and former President Donald Trump’s ex-press secretary Stephanie Grisham tried to persuade fellow Republicans to give Ms. Harris another look.
“I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle: John McCain’s Republican Party is gone. And we don’t owe a damned thing to what’s been left behind,” Mr. Giles said.
“So let’s turn the page. Let’s put the country first. And let’s put adults in the room our country deserves,” he added.
Mr. Giles and Ms. Grisham are among a handful of Republicans who will take the stage this week.
Others include former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye, and former GOP activist Rich Logis.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Duncan and Ms. Troye took the stage to rip into Mr. Trump.
“These days our party acts more like a cult,” Mr. Duncan said. “A cult worshiping a felonious thug.”
The Harris campaign has sought Republicans to persuade their fellow party members to support her. Mr. Kinzinger’s former chief of staff leads the campaign’s GOP outreach.
Ms. Grisham urged Republican voters to join her to “ensure Donald Trump never returns to the White House.”
“I love my country more than my party,” Ms. Grisham said. “Kamala Harris tells the truth. She respects the American people and she has my vote.”
Mr. Giles blamed the former president for his city’s economic woes, which he said bounced back under President Biden and Ms. Harris.
He said Mr. Trump “couldn’t deliver a thing” on the economy.
“I’m going to ribbon cuttings every single week. All because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris reached across the aisle. And they delivered for my conservative community and countless more across the country,” he said.
Ms. Grisham said she doesn’t agree with Ms. Harris on every issue, but said the vice president will “defend our freedoms and represent our nation with honesty and integrity.”
Mr. Logis, who spoke Monday, said he now leads a group for former Trump supporters like himself.
“So this is my message to all the Republicans and independents who are watching people like me [who] believed in Trump. I made a grave mistake, but it’s never too late to change your mind,” he said. “You don’t need to agree with everything you hear tonight to do what is right.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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