Reps Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney aren’t the only ones speaking up

What do these life-long Republicans all have in common?

Former governors of Kansas Bill Graves and Mike Hayden. Idaho’s former Gov. Phil Batt, former Attorney General and Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones and former Secretary of State Ben Ysursa.

Former Pennsylvania Congresswoman and state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman Greenwood of Pennsylvania. Michigan business leader Bill Parfet, chairman and CEO of commercial real estate company Northwood Group.

Kathy McDonald, vice chair of the Clark County Republican Party in Washington State. Julie Olson, a two-term Republican member of the Clark County Council.

They are just a few examples of Republicans who are prominent in their states or counties who are breaking ranks with the MAGA faction that has taken over their party and publicly endorsing Democrats running for office.

It’s interesting to look at how they are couching these announcements. Not all of them are directly confronting the conspiracy-thinking or rancid populism now prevalent among Trumpists. But crossing party lines is so rare, it’s notable nonetheless.

For example, former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden says he’s supporting Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly because the state’s affairs were in “good shape” right now and “I credit the bipartisan approach of Governor Kelly.” Not mentioned but in the background are the rabid rightwing positions of Kelly’s GOP challenger Derek Schmidt, a vocal Trump supporter who opposes the expansion of LGBTQ rights and gay marriage, and who as state attorney general signed onto a flimsy last-ditch lawsuit led by Texas to overturn the 2020 election results.

In Michigan, Bill Parfet explained his endorsement of Governor Gretchen Whitmer this way. “No more fighting. Among those running for election in November, there exists a group of individuals — some Democrats, some Republicans — that are willing to work together to find a common middle-ground where progress can be made. … The best person to lead that effort is Governor Gretchen Whitmer.” Again, not mentioned but in the background: Whitmer’s opponent Tudor Dixon, another Trump acolyte, is a hard-core opponent of abortion rights even in the cases of rape or incest. A referendum enshrining abortion rights in the state’s constitution will be on the ballot next month.

In Idaho, prominent Republicans say they are backing a Democrat, Tom Arkoosh, for state attorney general because they are worried his opponent, Raul Labrador, who previously ran and lost a bid for governor, is too much of a political opportunist and won’t be an impartial lawyer for the state. “Being a life-long Republican, it’s hard to endorse a Democratic candidate,” one of them, former secretary of state Ben Ysursa said. “But Tom Arkoosh is clearly the better candidate. He’s known as a competent, ethical and highly experienced attorney who strongly believes in the rule of law.” Not mentioned but in the background: Labrador’s defeat of Lawrence Wasden, the state’s incumbent attorney general, in the Republican primary, because Wasden refused to endorse anti-election lawsuits after 2020.

In Pennsylvania, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is running as the most rightwing candidate for statewide office in memory, Republicans are coming out and saying explicitly what is obvious. In endorsing sitting attorney general Josh Shapiro for governor, former state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman Greenwood said

“I have proudly voted for the Republican candidate for Governor throughout my life, but I cannot vote for someone as extreme and dangerous as Doug Mastriano. Mastriano continues to fan the flames of division, doubling down on his threats to undermine our democracy and attacking anyone who dares to criticize him.” Greenwood represented the state’s 8th Congressional District between 1993 and 2005.

Likewise in Washington state, where Joe Kent, an ex-Green Beret running for Congress who vows to impeach President Biden, denies the 2020 election results and promises no compromises with Democrats, some local Republicans are blasting him. “If you piss everybody in the world off, like Joe will do, you can’t move the ball forward,” Kathy McDonald, the vice chair of the Clark County GOP until two weeks ago. “How much is Marjorie Taylor Greene getting done?” Julie Olson, a two-term Republican member of the Clark County council also came out for Kent’s Democratic opponent, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Olson called Kent “a person who has an inability to connect with reality,” noting his continued denial of the 2020 presidential election results and comments about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether these Republicans directly call out the extremism of their former party colleagues or just speak in more positive terms about the need for political moderation doesn’t matter. Either way, they are creating a permission structure for other Republican voters who may be having private doubts about their party’s nominees but find it hard to leave the comfort of their political tribe. Their high visibility statements are even more important because of the current climate of political intimidation against anyone who speaks out against Trumpism. They’re putting country over party. Unlike so many others in their party, they’re not defending the indefensible. Turning Republican Liz Cheney’s words around, when the day comes that Donald Trump is gone, the honor of these Republicans will remain.