WASHINGTON — More than two-dozen former Republican members of Congress, including ex-Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, endorsed Joe Biden for president on Monday, hours ahead of the Republican National Convention.
Biden’s presidential campaign announced the list of endorsements in a press release Monday morning. Flake was expected to speak to reporters later in the day about why he has chosen to support the former vice president.
“These former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency, and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden,” the Biden campaign said in its announcement. “These former members of Congress are supporting Joe Biden because they know what’s at stake in this election and that Trump’s failures as president have superseded partisanship.”
Among the list of Republicans supporting Biden are Flake, former Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, and former Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Ray LaHood of Illinois, who also served as transportation secretary under former President Barack Obama.
Flake has spoken out against Trump since he served in the Senate, where he said that his fellow Republicans should push back against the president.
The announcement comes ahead of the GOP convention Monday and on the heels of the Democratic National Convention last week, where several Republicans endorsed Biden and delivered speeches explaining why. They included former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former eBay and Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman and former Rep. Susan Molinari of New York, who is among those on the list the Biden campaign released Monday.
