CNN
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Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said during a speech at Duke University that she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election, according to audio obtained by CNN.
The former Wyoming congressman noted the importance of voting for Harris in states like North Carolina, which he visited on Wednesday.
“I think it’s really important that people realize that what I just said is not only that Trump poses a danger that will discourage people from voting, but that especially in battleground states, they can’t afford to write in the candidate’s name,” Cheney said.
Sources close to Cheney said she made the announcement in North Carolina because it is a battleground state.
“As a conservative, as someone who believes in and values the Constitution, I’ve thought deeply about this. Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only will I not be voting for Donald Trump, I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” she continued.
Harris’ campaign highlighted Cheney’s support Wednesday night and listed other Republicans who have endorsed her, including former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
“The Vice President is proud to have Congresswoman Cheney’s vote. She is a patriot who loves this country and puts democracy and the Constitution first,” campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and a vocal critic of Trump, previously told CNN that she would do whatever it took to stop the former president from returning to the White House.
Cheney’s public criticism of Trump and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including her vote to impeach him, ultimately cost her her position in House Republican leadership, which removed her from her position as Speaker a few months after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and replaced her with one of Trump’s biggest defenders.
She later served as vice chair of the House select committee that investigated the riot and ultimately lost her seat to a Trump-backed opponent in the 2022 primary.
Cheney sought to counter Trump’s influence in the 2022 midterm elections by opposing candidates who repeated his falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen. A political action committee she started ran ads urging Arizona voters to reject Republican gubernatorial candidate Kali Lake and Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchim. She also campaigned across party lines to back two moderate Democrats in that year’s hotly contested House races.
This story has been updated with additional information.
