40 More Top Republicans Endorse Clinton Over Trump

Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced on September 29 that an additional 40 Republican leaders have just endorsed her for president.

The list of prominent GOP politicians includes former lawmakers, key Republicans in swing states and former Republican administration officials, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said, according to the Hill.

“The growing group of Republicans and Independents who are backing Hillary is a testament to how important the choice is in this election,” Podesta said during a conference call with reporters in which he revealed the news.

Republican Reps. Sherwood Boehlert of New York, Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island and John Schwartz are among the conservative lawmakers who endorsed Clinton, as are former officials who served in the Ford, Reagan and George W. Bush administrations.

“It’s really not about Republicans or Democrats, it’s about what country we will be, it’s about our children’s future and which candidate can bring people together to get things done, which candidate is fit to serve the office of president and commander in chief,” Podesta said.

The Clinton campaign has embraced these and other endorsements from high ranking conservatives and started Together for America, a group dedicated to reaching out to other GOP members who are dissatisfied with the prospect of voting for Trump. Upon their launch in August, they announced 50 endorsements.

“I was proud to be elected as part of the Reagan Revolution, to work with President Reagan, and to be a Republican my entire adult life,” Schneider, who decided to endorse Clinton after the first presidential debate, said on the call with Podesta. “But when it comes to this election, I have to put my country ahead of my party, and that means voting for Hillary Clinton.”

The new batch of prominent conservatives are far from the first to endorse the Democratic candidate, and several traditionally conservative newspapers, including the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Arizona Republic, according to the BBC.

“Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president,” wrote the Arizona Republic’s editorial board. “Never. This reflects a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles. This year is different. The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified. That’s why, for the first time in our history, The Arizona Republic will support a Democrat for president.”

Sources: The Hill, BBC, Arizona Republic / Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr