Olivia Troye, an ex-national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, called Sunday on her former boss to endorse Vice President Harris’s presidential run, calling it the “right thing” to do.
Troye, who emerged as a vocal Republican critic of the Trump administration since leaving the White House in 2020, told MSNBC anchor Alex Witt it would be an “amazing dream” if Pence threw his support behind Harris, who officially became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee last week.
“And if [Pence] out there listening right now, I encourage you to do the right thing,” Troye said Sunday.
“Again, you’ve shown tremendous courage in the past. You know what’s at stake more than anyone here and your voice can make an enormous difference for conservatives across the country,” she said.
Troye is part of the Harris campaign’s newly launched “Republicans for Harris” group, made up of more than 25 Republicans. As part of the group’s launch Sunday, Troye said the stakes of this election are “too high to let partisanship jeopardize our freedom and the Constitution.”
“At the end of the day, this is about democracy, the ideals that the Republican Party has held in the past about individual liberties and freedoms. That’s what Kamala Harris is trying to do here. She’s trying to build that coalition so that we preserve those rights,” Troye said.
Republicans for Harris will work on activating GOP voices “to speak to their friends and family about the importance of voting for the Vice President,” according to the campaign, which described the group as a “campaign within a campaign.”
The group is slated to have kickoff events Monday in battleground states Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Pence, who suspended his GOP presidential bid last year, said earlier this year he would not endorse former President Trump’s reelection bid following the two former leaders’ tense relationship after the 2020 election.
Pence has for about two years been outspoken that he lacked the authority to reject the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021, despite a pressure campaign from Trump to do so. In launching his campaign, Pence argued Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 were disqualifying and found himself increasingly out of step with the GOP base.
Biden endorsed Harris, who quickly consolidated support among the Democrats and major fundraising groups.
Pence last month said Biden “made the right decision” for the country, but did not expand upon his thoughts about Harris.
The Hill reached out to Pence’s team for comment.