Shawn Reilly, the mayor of the Republican stronghold of Waukesha, Wisconsin, announced on Wednesday that he will be casting his vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. He expressed his fear of the potential consequences if former President Donald Trump were to win in November.
Reilly, who has been serving as the mayor of Waukesha since 2014, was previously affiliated with the Republican party. However, in 2021, he made the decision to leave the party and become an independent following the events that took place on January 6th, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview with Fox 6 Milwaukee and The New York Times on Wednesday night, he expressed his struggle in making the decision to publicly endorse Harris, but ultimately described it as a “vote against Trump.”
Reilly, in an interview with Fox 6, expressed his belief that it would be easy for him to remain silent and vote as he pleased. However, he felt that the current situation called for a different approach. In his heart, he felt compelled to publicly announce his support for Vice President Harris as the next president.
In an interview with the Times, he expressed his concerns about the potential consequences if Donald Trump were to become president. He admitted to feeling a strong sense of fear regarding the direction our country might take under Trump’s leadership.
“I believe that our society is moving in a dangerous direction towards authoritarianism and fascism,” expressed Reilly. He acknowledged that he should have shown his support for Harris earlier, but emphasized the importance of doing so now, even if its impact may be limited.
Harris addressed the audience during a town hall held at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on October 21, 2024.
Wisconsin will be highly contested on election night as both Harris and Trump compete for a few crucial battleground states that will ultimately determine the outcome of the race in November.
In the previous election, Biden secured the state by a narrow margin of less than 21,000 votes. However, it is worth noting that Trump managed to win Waukesha County, which is the third-most populous county in Wisconsin, with an impressive 60% of the vote at that time.
Harris has been on the move in the past month, visiting swing states across the country. In an effort to win over undecided voters, she recently held a rally in Waukesha, where she was joined by former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.).
Democrats acknowledge that the county is expected to lean towards voting for Trump. However, they are optimistic that their appeals will have some impact on swaying Republican voters and ultimately secure the state for the vice president.
Matt Mareno, the chair of the Waukesha County Democratic Party, recently expressed his belief that investing in the community would prevent the Republicans from achieving a statewide victory in Wisconsin. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Mareno stated, “We’re undermining the heartbeat of the Republican Party in Wisconsin.”
