Mayor of Waukesha, a key Republican city, endorses Harris for president | The Wisconsin Independent
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Resch Expo in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Longtime Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly, a Republican-turned-independent, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Oct. 23.

Reilly said it was his first time endorsing a Democratic candidate and, rather than just privately cast his vote, he decided this election was too important not to speak out.

“It’s difficult. The easy thing to do is just not say anything and cast my vote the way I want, but I think we’re at a crossroads now,” Reilly told FOX6 News in Milwaukee, which first reported the endorsement. “I am terrified of Donald Trump becoming our next president for all the reasons I have indicated: he’s already been impeached twice. He’s been convicted of felonies and this is not what the United States needs.”

Reilly told the New York Times: “I’m very afraid of the direction our country will head in if Donald Trump becomes president. I think we’ll be heading down a road of authoritarianism and fascism.”

Waukesha is a critical area in battleground Wisconsin and has long been considered a Republican stronghold as one of what are called the “WOW counties” in suburban Milwaukee, along with Ozaukee and Washington. In 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump won Waukesha County by about 60%, though Joe Biden received a larger share of votes in the county in 2020 than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

Reilly has been mayor since 2014. He told FOX6 News that he won’t seek reelection after his current term is up in 2026.

After voting Republican for most of his life, Reilly said, he voted for a third-party candidate in 2016 and for Biden in 2020. Jan. 6, 2021, was the turning point for him: He told FOX6 he left the Republican Party that day, after the attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

“There’s going to be a lot of people who are not happy with what I say, and there will be a lot of people who are happy with what I have to say. But when you’re in this job, that’s your daily life, anyways,” Reilly said to FOX6 News.

He joins a long and growing list of prominent current and former Republicans who have endorsed Harris this election. It includes former Rep. Liz Cheney, who campaigned with Harris in Waukesha County on Monday. The two participated in a town hall-style meeting with conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes moderating. Sykes has also endorsed Harris.

Other local Republican leaders that have also endorsed Harris are Buffalo County District Attorney Tom Bilski, former Brown County GOP Chair Mark Becker, and former Iowa County Sheriff Steve Michek.

Reilly’s endorsement comes as both campaigns have been barnstorming suburban Milwaukee in the weeks and days leading up to Election Day. On Oct. 19, the cast of “The West Wing” campaigned at the Waukesha County Democrats headquarters. Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held an early-voting rally in Racine on Tuesday. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance also campaigned in Waukesha County on Oct. 20 and was scheduled to be in Racine on Oct. 28.

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