Vice President Kamala Harris has an unusual travel companion on the campaign trail — Republican Liz Cheney.
Cheney, who at one time was the No. 2 House Republican, and the Democratic presidential nominee are trying to woo fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and foreign policy observers to vote Democrat.
The duo held town halls in three Rust Belt states — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — in an effort to sell Harris to foreign policy hawks, voters who consider themselves pro-life and fiscal moderates, Politico reported.
Visiting these key states is no coincidence, but underlies their importance in a Harris win.
“The last decade … has been about some powerful forces suggesting that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, instead of what I think most of us believe — regardless of your party affiliation — that the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up,” Harris said in Michigan Monday afternoon. “For that reason, I’m not surprised that Liz Cheney and I are on the same stage 15 days before the election.”
As Nov. 5 closes in, both campaigns are looking to entice those voters who are undecided and can be persuaded to vote their way.
For the Harris campaign, this includes former Nikki Haley supporters as well as moderate Republicans.
The location of Monday’s town halls also happened to be in places Haley did well in the Republican primary.
And polling has shown Harris has a chance with getting some GOP voters to vote for her.
According to a Wall Street Journal poll released last week, Harris and her rival, former President Donald Trump are neck and neck in Arizona with 8% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters stating they would vote for Harris.
A recent New York Times and Siena College poll said 9% of registered Republicans plan to vote for Harris. This is an increase from 5%.
Haley, who served as Trump’s U.N. ambassador, has endorsed Trump, but has not campaigned with him other than speaking on stage at the Republican National Convention.
And it appears to not affect Trump one way or another.
“I’ll do what I have to do,” Trump told Fox News when he was asked about campaigning with Haley, then referring to the primary race. “I beat her in her own state by numbers that nobody’s ever been beaten by. I beat Nikki badly.”
Cheney, who endorsed Harris in September, has become a major component as Democrats court moderate Republicans.
Cheney warned of the “danger” she believes Trump presents.
“I have gotten to spend time with Vice President Harris. I have had the chance to talk with her about how important it is that we have two strong parties in our country, about the kind of president that I know she’ll be,” Cheney said Monday. “We have to have leaders who are going to be sincere. And as a mother, I want my children to know that there is someone sitting in the Oval Office that they can look up to, someone who can be a role model. And I’m incredibly proud, and I know that Vice President Harris will be that.”
The vice president has said she will appoint a Republican to her cabinet if elected.
Her running mate Tim Walz said on the “SmartLess” podcast Monday that Republican should be appointed to a high-profile post.
“Some of these people need to be put in a position where they truly have the ability to influence things because they are ethical and they care about this country,” Walz said. “And I think that’s something that really sets her apart to make a high profile appointment to the Cabinet.”
