WASHINGTON — More than 200 Republicans with past affiliations to former President George W. Bush, the late Senator John McCain from Arizona, or Senator Mitt Romney from Utah signed an open letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency, as reported exclusively by YSL News.

This letter from former aides to the three Republican presidential nominees before Donald Trump emerged comes shortly after a recent Democratic National Convention held in Chicago, where Republican critics of Trump were prominently featured. The letter has garnered a total of 238 signatures, including at least five former aides to George H.W. Bush.

A comparable group of approximately 150 former staffers opposed to Trump from the Bush, McCain, and Romney teams also endorsed President Joe Biden during the 2020 election.

“We gather again today, joined by former George H.W. Bush staffers, to reaffirm our statements from 2020 and, for the first time, collectively declare that we are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in the upcoming November elections,” the letter states. “While we have significant ideological differences with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, the alternative is simply unacceptable.”

Notable signatories supporting Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, include: former chiefs of staff for McCain, Mark Salter and Chris Koch; Joe Donoghue, who was McCain’s legislative director; Jennifer Lux, who served as press secretary for McCain’s 2008 campaign; and Jean Becker, a longtime chief of staff for George H.W. Bush.

Among the other supporters are David Nierenberg, who was Romney’s campaign finance chair in 2012; David Garman, who was the under secretary of Energy under George W. Bush; and Olivia Troye, who was an advisor to both George W. Bush and Vice President Mike Pence, and who spoke at the DNC convention last week.

The letter further claims, “Another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic rule, primarily focused on promoting the harmful aims of Project 2025, will adversely impact real people and undermine our essential institutions.” This references a policy plan by the Heritage Foundation that Trump’s campaign has tried to distance itself from.

“Internationally, democratic efforts will face significant threats as Trump and his ally JD Vance yield to autocrats like Vladimir Putin while neglecting our allies. We must not allow this to happen.”

The ongoing tensions between the camps of McCain, Romney, and Bush and Trump are widely recognized.

Romney, who voted to impeach Trump, has stated that he will not support him in the 2024 election but has yet to endorse Harris. Bush’s family has a history of conflict with Trump, and he did not attend the recent Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, although he has not publicly criticized Trump. Back in 2015, Trump remarked that McCain was “not a war hero,” and four years prior, McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, had endorsed Biden instead of Trump.

Others adding their names to the letter include: Reed Galen, McCain’s deputy campaign manager and co-founder of the Lincoln Project; Jim Swift, a former Republican operative now serving as senior editor for The Bulwark (an anti-Trump news site); and former McCain campaign strategist Mike Murphy.

According to the group, citing 2020 exit polls and other voting data, it was “moderate Republicans and conservative independents in key swing states” who played a crucial role in Biden’s success that ultimately secured him the presidency.

who “prioritized the nation over their party,” they expressed in the letter.

The organization urged more centrist Republicans and independents to “take a courageous position once again” and back Harris instead of Trump in the upcoming election.

The Harris campaign has been promoting its support from Republicans opposing Trump, recently launching a “Republicans for Harris” initiative and featuring Republican speakers during last week’s convention.

Speakers at the convention included former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who was part of the House committee investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election; former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham; former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan; Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles; and Troye, a former homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Pence, who has stated that he will not endorse Trump for president.

Recently, a group of twelve notable Republican lawyers, who previously worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, endorsed Harris for president. This group includes conservative former federal appellate Judge Michael Luttig, who will be voting for a Democratic president for the first time.

Contact Joey Garrison on X, formerly known as Twitter, @joeygarrison.