December 23, 2024
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are raking in endorsements and vying for others from those with influence this election season. Harris and Trump are endorsed by the majority of their party’s respective elected officials, save for some holdouts on both sides, and each has a unique set of people in […]

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are raking in endorsements and vying for others from those with influence this election season.

Harris and Trump are endorsed by the majority of their party’s respective elected officials, save for some holdouts on both sides, and each has a unique set of people in and out of the political realm who have tossed them their support.

Here’s a rundown of who has endorsed whom: 

Harris’s endorsements

Politicians

Harris is endorsed by most elected members of the Democratic Party. President Joe Biden, who exited the presidential race in July, immediately endorsed her after his withdrawal, and the party generally coalesced around her candidacy quickly.

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter have all endorsed her candidacy. She is also endorsed by several former vice presidents, including Republican Dick Cheney as well as Democrat Al Gore. Dan Quayle and Mike Pence have not made endorsements.

Harris has the support of all 23 Democratic governors currently in office. 

There are three elected Democrats who are in reelection battles and have not endorsed Harris. Those include Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME), Mary Peltola (D-AK), and Josh Harder (D-CA). 

Three Democrats who are challenging Republicans in their House districts also have not endorsed Harris. Those include Lanon Baccam, who is running against Rep. Zach Nunn in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District; Adam Frisch, who is running for an open seat in Colorado’s 3rd District, and Janelle Stelson, who is running against Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in Pennsylvania’s 10th District. 

Harris, however, is endorsed by hundreds of staffers, such as those of prominent Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, and former Arizona Sen. John McCain. She also has the endorsement of McCain’s son, Jimmy. Some former Republican members of Congress have also endorsed Harris, including former Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Joe Walsh of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming. 

More than 100 former Republican officials also wrote a letter endorsing Harris, calling Trump unfit for office.

“We expect to disagree with Kamala Harris on many domestic and foreign policy issues, but we believe that she possesses the essential qualities to serve as President and Donald Trump does not. We therefore support her election to be President,” the letter said.

Organizations and business leaders

Harris is endorsed by multiple prominent labor unions, including the United Auto Workers, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, and United Steelworkers. 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate after releasing internal polling that showed a majority of its members supported Trump over Harris. It’s the first time since 1996 they haven’t endorsed the Democratic ticket.

Multiple local chapters of the Teamsters, however, have endorsed Harris, including the Teamsters Joint Council 43 in Michigan, Teamsters Joint Council 39 in Wisconsin, and Teamsters Joint Council 7 and Joint Council 42, which represents 300,000 members across California, Hawaii, Guam, and Nevada. The Teamsters Black Caucus also endorsed the vice president.

More than 90 prominent business leaders recently penned a letter highlighting their support of Harris. Those signatories included billionaire Mark Cuban, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, along with the former heads of American Express, Merck, Starbucks, and Yahoo.

She is also endorsed by many civil rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign. She also has the support of groups that support stronger gun control like Everytown for Gun Safety.

Celebrities and athletes

Harris touts many celebrity endorsements, perhaps none more crucial than that of Taylor Swift, who has a wide and loyal following. She endorsed Harris immediately following the presidential debate and more than 300,000 people registered to vote from the link Swift posted. 

Harris is endorsed by dozens of other musical artists, including Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas O’Connell, Cher, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, and Usher. She is also endorsed by dozens of Hollywood celebrities, including Matt Damon, Aubrey Plaza, and George Clooney.

Harris is also endorsed by NBA superstar Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors and Team USA men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr, who spoke at the DNC, and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar. She is also endorsed by tennis star Coco Gauff.

NBA superstar LeBron James, who sometimes dabbles in politics, has not yet made an endorsement, but he has endorsed Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the Biden-Harris ticket in previous elections. He has expressed a distaste for Trump and was a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Trump’s endorsements

Politicians

Trump is endorsed by most elected Republicans, but some prominent ones have refused to back or comment on the former president. Trump’s third presidential bid has the support of Republican leadership, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and rank-and-file members of Congress.

Some Republicans who ran against Trump in the 2024 primaries have now backed him, including his strongest competition, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, as well as Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Doug Burgum (R-ND), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Former GOP Govs. Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie, who also ran in this year’s primaries, have not endorsed the former president and have been vocal critics of him. 

Trump has the support of many current and former governors, including Govs. Brian Kemp (R-GA), Greg Abbott (R-TX), Jim Pillen (R-NE), and Chris Sununu (R-NH) and former Govs. Doug Ducey, Scott Walker, and Bob McDonnell.

Of the living former Republican presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates, just Sarah Palin has explicitly said she is voting for him. McCain, who ran alongside Palin, died in 2018, but Trump frequently criticized the Arizona senator. Quayle has not voiced his support of Trump either, and Dick Cheney is voting for Harris.

The 2012 Republican ticket, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, are vocal critics of Trump and have not endorsed him. 

Pence, whose relationship with Trump turned sour after Pence refused to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election, said he is not voting for Trump, but he has said he could “never” vote for Harris either.

George W. Bush said he will not be making a presidential endorsement this year.

Every national Republican lawmaker running a race this year has endorsed Trump for president, save for three: former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for Senate, and Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and David Valadao (R-CA). None have voiced their support for Trump.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump in August. The former president also has the support of former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2020. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was pardoned by Trump in 2020, is also supporting Trump’s third bid for the presidency.

Organizations and business leaders

Trump is endorsed by various organizations, including the Fraternal Order of the Police, which is the country’s largest police organization, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the Associated Builders and Contractors. 

Billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, and venture capitalist David Sacks are all supporting Trump. He is also endorsed by X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is the only Fortune 500 CEO backing the former president in 2024. 

Celebrities and athletes

Trump is endorsed by dozens of musical artists, including Jason Aldean, Kodak Black, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Kanye West.

Brittany Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s wife, has shown support for Trump, and the former president recently praised her for “defending him.” Patrick Mahomes, who is a three-time Super Bowl champion, said he is not endorsing a political candidate this election.

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Brittany Mahomes, however, is reportedly rethinking her support for Trump after Trump criticized Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, for endorsing Harris. 

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown and former NFL player and Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker have endorsed Trump. The former president is also endorsed by boxer Jake Paul and U.S. Olympian Caitlyn Jenner.

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