Florida Republican Leaders Endorse Vice President Harris, Highlight Dangers of Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda
On Wednesday, former State Comptroller and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Bob Milligan and former campaign operative Mac Stipanovich announced their endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris with their new roles as co-chairs of the Florida Republicans for Harris Advisory Committee. With three weeks to go until Election Day, the new Republicans for Harris co-chairs came together to highlight the contrast between Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s New Way Forward, which ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead, and Donald Trump and JD Vance’s extreme Project 2025 agenda, which gives Trump unprecedented, unchecked power to roll back Americans’ rights and freedoms.
This new round of endorsements builds on the historic momentum behind the campaign’s Republicans for Harris outreach efforts, with recent endorsements from more than 100 Republican former national security officials; 300 Reagan, Bush, Romney, and McCain alumni; several former Nikki Haley campaign staffers; and a dozen White House lawyers who served under Republican presidents. Back in August, Team Harris-Walz launched the Florida committee of Republicans for Harris, a grassroots organizing coalition to further the campaign’s outreach efforts to the millions of Republican voters who continue to reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.
About Panhandle Republicans for Harris:
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General Bob Milligan: Served two terms as Comptroller of Florida (1995-2003) after retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps as a Lieutenant General after 35 years of service in the Marine Corps. After two terms as State Comptroller, General Milligan continued his public service, including as interim Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Chairman of the Florida Veterans Foundation, and interim Director of the State Board of Administration.
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Jim Smith: Served as the 32nd Florida Attorney General (1979-1987), twice as Florida Secretary of State (1987-1995, 2002-2003), and has twice run for Governor. Smith has been a member of the Republican Party since 1987.
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Mac Stipanovich: Longtime Republican strategist who served as chief of staff to Florida Governor Bob Martinez. Since then, Mac has been a major figure in Florida politics, including running Jeb Bush’s 1994 bid for Governor.
Video of the press conference is available here.
“As a Marine and member of a state operation, I got to see a lot of different leaders. An integral part of being a good leader is your character. Unfortunately, former President Trump’s character is a disaster,” said Lieutenant General Robert F. Milligan, USMC (Ret) and former Comptroller of Florida. “That is why we owe it to the country and to the world to elect Kamala Harris and reject Donald Trump.”
“I’m a conservative. But I’m not voting for Donald Trump. He’s not a conservative. I’ve been a Republican three times as long as he has,” said John McKager “Mac” Stipanovich, former chief of staff to Governor Bob Martinez and campaign operative. “Donald Trump is unprincipled. He is a blustering, name-calling bully who only cares about himself. Which is why I have already voted for Kamala Harris, and why I urge others who care about country more than party to do the same.”
