'Be a patriot': Three former Maine GOP chairs endorse Kamala Harris

Three former chairs of the Republican Party of Maine are out with a new op-ed in the Bangor Daily News, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Robert A.G. Monks, Ken Cole and Ted O’Meara, despite previously running the GOP in Maine, united Monday on crossing the aisle.

"We led our party at a time when candidates of both parties were not only civil and believed in the rule of law, but, we believe, had the best interests of the state and entire nation foremost in their hearts, even when we disagreed on policies," they wrote. "We see these same positive characteristics are on full display in Vice President Harris and her candidacy. Sadly, they are completely lacking in her opponent, former President Donald Trump."

This, they note, comes a week after over 100 former Republican officials signed onto an endorsement of Harris that called Trump "unfit to serve" — a sentiment they agree with.

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"On the debate stage in Philadelphia, Trump refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to prevail against Russian aggression, a position previous generations of Republican leaders would have found unthinkable, just like Trump’s cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban and Kim Jong Un," they wrote. "European allies are waiting to see if their faith in America is going to be affirmed by a Harris victory or undermined by a Trump win" — the latter of which, they warned, would make the world "a more dangerous place."

In contrast to Republicans who remain with the "cult of Trump," they concluded, "Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, put it best in his speech to the Democratic convention last month when he said: 'Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.' On Nov. 5, be a patriot."

Maine the northermost and most rural of the New England states, has consistently voted Democratic for decades, but has seen an increasing political division between the more educated, liberal coast and the rest of the state — and as one of only two states where electors for congressional districts are awarded separately, Trump has managed to win Maine's 2nd Congressional District twice.