Nikki Haley campaigners endorse Harris as she backs Trump

Several former state campaign committee members on Nikki Haley’s failed presidential bid have endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, publicly breaking with Haley, who is backing GOP nominee Donald Trump.

“This year the election may well be decided by independents and former Haley supporters,” wrote Tom Evslin, who co-chaired Haley’s Vermont state leadership team, in an op-ed Wednesday for the Vermont Daily Chronicle.

Evslin, who voted against then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 and against Trump in 2020, wrote that he “will be happy to vote FOR Harris if she consistently articulates a strong foreign policy.”

The same day, two former members of Haley’s Michigan state leadership team also urged Republicans to support the Democratic ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“As Republicans, we believe character and integrity matter,” business consultant Jimmy Greene and communications expert Bill Nowling wrote in a joint op-ed for the Michigan Chronicle. “That’s why we proudly supported Ambassador Nikki Haley for president and were part of her Michigan Leadership Team.”

Nowling is also a co-chair of the group Republicans for Harris, which includes Republican former Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Denver Riggleman of Virginia.

“We believed in her positive vision for the future of the Republican Party, Michigan, and our nation,” Greene and Nowling wrote. “Now, we will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, and we are encouraging other sensible Republicans to join us.”

The latest endorsements came five days after Haley’s former Iowa state co-chair Dawn Roberts announced she would back Harris.

In a guest column for the Des Moines Register, Roberts wrote that while she is “a lifelong Republican,” she was dismayed by both parties when Trump and President Joe Biden appeared to be the top candidates.

When Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris as his replacement, “I decided to see who she really was,” wrote Roberts. “I was impressed with how she handled herself saying that she wanted to ‘earn everyone’s support.’ She showed willingness to listen to a wider range of views to solve problems.”

“So I am supporting Kamala Harris for president,” she wrote.

A spokeswoman for Haley did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on her former campaigners endorsing Harris.

Haley, who was governor of South Carolina and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was the last high-profile candidate to keep campaigning against Trump in the Republican presidential primary.

In the final stretch of her campaign, Haley, who had taken pains to avoid alienating Trump’s base by directly attacking him, became vocally critical of the de facto Republican leader.

When Haley finally ended her campaign in…