Public radio from Western Michigan University 102.1 NPR News | 89.9 Classical WMUK
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Texas Township 'Haley voter for Harris' says Trump may "blow up democracy"

Two people stand in line next to a table full of voters filling out their ballots. These voters sit at the right of the image, their ballots covered by a foldable guard that protects their choice. The white guard has an American flag with "vote" written underneath.
Lauren Petracca
/
AP
Early voters fill out their ballots in Rochester, N.Y.

Former Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for President, but some of her voters are not following her example.

Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has drawn support from a number of Republicans, including former West Michigan Congressman Fred Upton.

She’s also got the support of a "super PAC" fundraising group called Haley Voters for Harris.

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley ran against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the primary. She later endorsed Trump.

Robert Schwartz is Haley Voters for Harris’ Michigan director. He said getting former Haley voters to back Harris could be a game changer.

Schwartz said nearly 27 percent of Republican primary voters in Michigan backed Haley.

“If there were 300,000 Nikki Haley voters, and 40% of them wind up voting for Kamala Harris, of course that's going to make a huge difference," he said.

Kalamazoo County is home to one of these Haley-supporting Harris voters.

Texas Township resident Robert Tate still considers himself a Republican, but said he’s never supported Trump.

He backed Haley in the Republican primary, but now he’s voting for Harris.

Tate said Trump is not the skilled businessman he claims to be.  

“If Trump builds a business and isn't successful, well, he clears out everything by declaring bankruptcy and then starts again. And that might be fine for a business, but it's not fine for a government.”

But Trump's economic policies aren't the only things Tate objects to. He also takes issue with Trump's rhetoric and the threat he poses to democracy.

“He has his own agenda, and he's going to try to achieve it any way that he can. And I think that that agenda could mean that if he can't achieve it, he would try to blow up democracy.”

Haley has called the use of her name in support of Harris deceptive, reportedly sending a cease and desist letter to the group. But Schwartz said they represent Haley voters, not Haley.

Report for America national service program corps member Michael Symonds joined WMUK’s staff in 2023. He covers the “rural meets metro” beat, reporting stories that link seemingly disparate parts of Southwest Michigan.