3 former GOP governors, including Michigan's Rick Snyder, endorse Biden

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

published 3 September 2020

Another group of Republicans is endorsing Democrat Joe Biden on Thursday, this one made up of nearly 100 former governors and lawmakers. The "Republicans and Independents for Biden" group is headed by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman — who already endorsed Biden at the Democratic National Convention — and its members include former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and, more surprisingly, former two-term Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who left office in 2019. About a fifth of the group is Michigan Republicans, including former congressmen Joe Schwarz and Dave Trott.

"Having worked with Joe Biden and Donald Trump when I was governor, I believe Biden is the clear choice to put our country back on a positive path," Snyder told Reuters. He elaborated in a USA Today op-ed, explaining that Trump "lacks a moral compass" and governs like "a bully," and "being a bully and being strong are not the same thing."

The economy — once the president's ace card — has been strong under Trump, but "it reminds me of the old expression that it is better to be lucky than smart," Snyder said. "Some regulatory reforms have been helpful. But his tax reform was a failure." And despite "some good agreements" in foreign policy, he added, "overall, our nation is no longer respected as a leader on world affairs." Snyder assured his party that "while I am endorsing Joe Biden for president, I am still a Republican who also will be publicly supporting Republican candidates at the local, state, and federal level."

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"Republicans and Independents for Biden" is affiliated with the Lincoln Project, a group of GOP operatives working to defeat Trump. Other anti-Trump GOP groups include 43 Alumni for Biden, made up of hundreds of officials who worked for George W. Bush, and Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Reuters that Trump has unprecedented support among "real Republican voters."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.