MESA, Ariz. — Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is one of more than two dozen Republican leaders to come out endorsing Joe Biden for president.
His announcement comes on the first day of the Republican National Convention, a move Flake says was tactical but also a long time coming.
While in office, Flake would speak out a handful of times against President Donald Trump and now that he's out of office, he's not holding back.
Flake also says he’s seen from experience that he thinks Joe Biden will work best for both parties.
He sat down with Team 12’s Erica Stapleton to talk about his decision.
FLAKE: Our party can’t go in this direction if we want to be relevant in the future.
ERICA: Why not?
FLAKE: It’s a demographic cul de sac. We’re just going in a place where there’s no future.
People have asked me could you vote for a Democrat for president? And I said I could if there were a Joe Biden kind of Democrat.
ERICA: Some may argue that you supporting Joe Biden is a stance against the Republican Party. How would you respond to that?
FLAKE: I’d respond I think I’m trying to save the Republican Party. There’s no future in Trumpism – in politics you can’t paint your opponents as your enemy. Because as soon as you do that you try to destroy your enemy and there’s no room for compromise.
ERICA: Taking this stance is something that Republicans in Arizona might not support – what influence do you think you still have?
FLAKE: Obviously by and large Republicans are with the president – that’s part of the reason why I’m here and not in the Senate. If I could have convinced people to be away from what the policy was, then I probably would have run for re-election.
I don’t expect to convince most Republicans to vote against the president. But there is a good number who feel like I do who I think are looking for some kind of permission. Will somebody else do it? Is somebody voting against the president?
