'Go Joe': 27 Republican former members of Congress say they'll back Biden over Trump

Jeff Flake, who had been one of the leading Republican critics of President Donald Trump in the Senate, announced Monday he will vote for Joe Biden in November, because the "conservative cause would be better served for the long term if the Democrats prevail." 

"Indifference to the truth or to the careful stewardship of the institutions of American liberty is not conservative," Flake said, deriding Trump's leadership in a video statement. "Disregard for the separation of powers, the centerpiece of our constitutional system, is not conservative. Governing by tweet is not conservative."

Biden "will approach the constitutional role with the reverence and dignity it deserves," he said. 

"So it is because of my conservatism, and because of my belief in the Constitution, and in the separation of power – and because I am gravely concerned about the conduct and behavior of our current president – that I stand here today, proudly and wholeheartedly, to endorse Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America," he continued. 

"Go Joe."

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Flake joined a group of more than two dozen former Republican members of Congress who announced their support for Biden earlier Monday, hours before the start of the Republican National Convention. 

The Biden campaign said in a statement that the 27 former GOP lawmakers believe President Donald Trump's "failures" in office "have superseded partisanship." 

"In a strong rebuke to the current administration, these former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency, and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden," the statement said. 

The campaign said Monday's announcement signaled the launch of Republicans for Biden, a "national effort to engage Republicans who are supporting Biden this fall" and encourage them to organize support for the Democratic candidate. 

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Three former senators are included in the group: Flake, Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire and John Warner of Virginia.

Flake, who served six terms in the House before joining the Senate in 2013, had indicated he would be willing to support a Democratic candidate over Trump. Trump derided Flake as "weak and ineffective" as far back as the 2016 campaign, and the two Republicans were often at odds during the president's first two years in office. 

After the 2018 midterms, Trump said he was the reason Flake did not seek reelection. 

"Pure and simple, I retired him," Trump said. "I'm very proud of it. I did the country a great service." 

Warner left the Senate in 2009 after 30 years, including three stints as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He said in March he was backing the "thoroughly tested" Biden over Trump, whom he called a "gamble." Humphrey served two terms in the Senate, leaving in 1990. 

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The 24 former GOP House members supporting Biden are: 

• Steve Bartlett of Texas
• William Clinger of Pennsylvania 
• Tom Coleman of Missouri 
• Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania 
• Charles Djou of Hawaii
• Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma
• Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland
• Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania 
• Bob Inglis of South Carolina
• Jim Kolbe of Arizona
• Steve Kuykendall of California
• Ray LaHood of Illinois
• Jim Leach of Iowa
• Susan Molinari of New York
• Connie Morella of Maryland
• Mike Parker of Mississippi
• Jack Quinn of New York
• Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island
• Christopher Shays of Connecticut
• Peter Smith of Vermont
• Alan Steelman of Texas
• Jim Walsh of New York
• William Whitehurst of Virginia
• Dick Zimmer of New Jersey

Other Republicans have rejected Trump and endorsed Biden, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, all of whom spoke at the Democratic National Convention last week. 

Hours before Biden gave his acceptance speech at the convention, more than 70 senior officials who served under Republican administrations signed a letter calling Trump “unfit to lead” while outlining their support for Biden.

Contributing: Savannah Behrmann 

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