Shawn Reilly, the mayor of Waukesha, Wisconsin, has made headlines for announcing his decision to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, marking a significant shift from his former affiliation with the Republican Party.
Reilly, who has served as Waukesha’s mayor since 2014, left the GOP in 2021, citing the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as a turning point. Now an independent, he expressed deep concerns about the prospect of Donald Trump winning another term, stating that such a result could lead the country towards “authoritarianism and fascism.
In interviews with Fox 6 Milwaukee and The New York Times, Reilly acknowledged the difficulty of his decision but emphasized that his choice to support Harris was more a vote against Trump.
He felt compelled to speak out publicly because he believes the U.S. is at a crossroads and that the stakes are too high to remain silent.
Wisconsin, particularly Waukesha County, is expected to be a critical battleground in the 2024 election. While Trump won the county by a significant margin in 2020, Democrats are hoping to make inroads by appealing to moderate Republicans and independents like Reilly.
Harris’s recent rally in Waukesha, alongside former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, reflects her campaign’s focus on swing voters in key states.
Reilly’s endorsement underscores the broader effort by Democrats to weaken Trump’s stronghold in traditionally conservative areas like Waukesha County.