Liz Cheney and Harris campaign together to win over skeptical Republicans.

• Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris campaigned together in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party.
• Cheney proudly announced that he has never voted for a Democrat, but this year, he is casting his vote for Harris.
• The Republican party's opposition to Trump is being exploited by the Harris campaign.

On Thursday, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney joined Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in Ripon, Wisconsin, as part of the Harris campaign's strategy to utilize her Republican allies in crucial battleground states in the final month of the presidential race.

Cheney declared that she has never voted for a Democrat before, but this year, she is proudly casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

In September, Cheney announced that she and her father, the former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, would be supporting Harris instead of their party's nominee, Donald Trump.

Trump has been a long-standing target of criticism from Cheney, who was one of only 10 House Republicans to vote for his impeachment following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Afterward, she served as vice chair of the House select committee investigating the deadly attack.

""The peaceful transition of power is crucial to our survival as a republic, and it is the president's responsibility to ensure this, except for Donald Trump," Cheney stated on Thursday."

A day after a federal judge in Washington D.C. unsealed a 165-page filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith, detailing evidence against Trump in his criminal election interference case, the joint Harris-Cheney event took place.

In 2022, after serving as chair of the House Republican Conference for six years and being in office for two, Cheney lost her Wyoming GOP primary race to Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman. In her concession speech, Cheney directly attributed her loss to her opposition to Trump.

The birthplace of the Republican Party is Ripon, Wisconsin, where a one-room schoolhouse served as the site of at least two meetings that helped form the party in 1854. The schoolhouse is now a National Historic Landmark.

In her remarks, Harris emphasized the importance of the town and pledged to be "a president for all Americans," targeting Republican voters.

"Liz Cheney embodies the tradition of Republican leaders, according to Harris. If individuals in Wisconsin and across the country follow her lead in upholding the rule of law and democratic ideals, they can work together to create a new path forward, not as members of a specific party, but as Americans."

In a democratic republic, Harris emphasized the significance of a peaceful transfer of power, as indicated by campaign signs that read "Country over Party."

No matter your political party, if you share that view, there is a place for you with us in this campaign, she said.

The Republican party's opposition to Trump has been exploited by the Harris campaign for gaining support.

A small but growing number of prominent Republicans have come out in support of Harris' presidential campaign, including former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and the Cheneys.

Prior to Harris' visit, a group of more than 20 former and current Wisconsin Republican leaders unveiled the Wisconsin Republicans for Harris-Walz campaign platform and publicly endorsed Harris for president in a letter.

"Although we have numerous policy differences with Vice President Harris, there is one thing we all agree on: we cannot endure another four years of Donald Trump's leadership, which includes broken promises, election denialism, and turmoil."

The group announced plans to host Republican voter outreach events in areas of Wisconsin where Nikki Haley received significant support during her GOP presidential primary campaign against Trump.

In the 2016 presidential race, the former president won Wisconsin's Electoral College votes, but four years later, Democratic President Joe Biden flipped the Badger State back to blue.

Although recent polls indicate that Harris and Trump are virtually even in the national presidential race, most surveys suggest that Harris maintains a slight but steady advantage over Trump in Wisconsin.

Since launching her presidential campaign in July, Harris made her fifth visit to Wisconsin on Thursday night, and it was her first trip to the town of Ripon.