More Arizona Republicans are lining up behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
The Harris campaign announced today that it added 90 new members to its Arizona Republicans for Harris Advisory committee, including some current and former officeholders like former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.
Romley was county attorney from 1989 to 2004 and then served another brief interim stint in 2010. He said he is a lifelong Republican but that he can’t support former President Donald Trump for a variety of reasons, including the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s repeated false claims that fraud contributed to his election loss.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of con artists in my life, and I put Donald Trump in that,” Romley said. “He talks a great game, but he really doesn’t carry through and I’m not sure he’s really out for the best interests of those in our country over his own advantages that he makes for himself.”
Romley acknowledged that he has policy differences with Harris, and said he declined requests to endorse her initially, because he “wanted to see more.”
Romley said he’s seen enough since Harris became the Democratic nominee to convince him to endorse her. He pointed to her commitment to support bipartisan border legislation that stalled in Congress last year after Trump called on Republican lawmakers to vote against the deal.
“It’s one of the strongest immigration reform bills we’ve had in decades, so I look that she’s putting her country above her own self, and I see Donald Trump as putting himself above the country,” he said.
Romley, a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, also says he has a problem with comments Trump allegedly made while president disparaging veterans and members of the military.
“I could not let that go,” Romley said. “I know the servicemen’s sacrifice; I was in combat. It’s just wrong.”
Romley said he hopes his decision to publicly buck his party and back Harris will convince other Republicans to do the same.
“I’m a John McCain man,” Romley said. “I believe in country before political party, before one’s own personal wellbeing. Country should be coming first.”
Former state lawmaker Rich Crandall, Mesa City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury and Glendale Councilman Bart Turner are also on the committee, which has amassed over 120 members since launching in August.
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