John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president as the latter settles into her new role as this year’s expected Democratic presidential nominee.
Arizona was a swing state in the last presidential election, with now President Joe Biden winning the state and breaking a lengthy streak of Republican victories in presidential elections. It’s also been a focal point in conspiracy theory-driven wrangling over the handling of elections, whether with the assembling of a slate of sham electoral votes backing Trump after the 2020 presidential race or the lengthy legal fight waged by Republican Kari Lake after she lost the 2022 Arizona race for governor.
Mesa — Giles’ city — has a population of more than half a million.
“I believe my party has a moral and ethical responsibility to restore faith in our democratic institutions. In the spirit of the late Sen. John McCain’s motto, “Country First,” I call on other Arizona Republicans to join me in choosing country over party this election and to vote against Donald Trump,” Giles said.
He also pointed to Trump’s advocacy against a bipartisan border reform plan presented in the Senate that was ultimately trounced, no matter its sweeping ambition.
“We can choose a future for our children and grandchildren based on decency, respect and morality — or succumb to the crudeness and vulgarity of Trump and J.D. Vance and the far-right agenda they would champion,” added the mayor’s new article published by The Arizona Republic.
Harris — the presumptive Democratic nominee after Biden’s recent withdrawal from the race and endorsement of her — also quickly assembled support from prominent Democrats, including governors in California, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, some of whom have reportedly been under consideration to be Harris’ own running mate for the year. The public reveal of Harris’ running mate decision is apparently set to come very soon.
