My time for choosing: I’m a Republican and I’m endorsing Harris and Walz

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

Sixty years ago, near the end of the 1964 presidential election, Ronald Reagan gave a speech supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater that launched Reagan’s political career and paved the way to him becoming the 40th president of the United States 16 years later.

In his famous “A Time for Choosing” speech, Reagan noted that he had spent most of his life as a Democrat. But he had recently “seen fit to follow another course,” as he believed “the issues confronting us cross party lines.”

“You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right,” he said. ”Well, I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down — [up] man’s old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.”

I find great comfort in Reagan’s words, which are strikingly relevant today. In this election, there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down.

I turned 50 years old last year, and I am choosing man’s old-aged dream.

As a Republican, I choose to proudly support Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president.

In six straight presidential elections from 1992 until 2012, I voted for every Republican presidential candidate.

I was also not just an average voter but an active participant in the political process. I worked on Republican campaigns and for the Republican Party. I was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2008 and later served as the deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota from 2009 to 2011.

However, when Donald Trump became the face of the Republican Party, I found myself unable to support him. I did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020.

Earlier this year in the primary, I voted for Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador. But I watched with frustration as Trump easily won the nomination of the Republican Party.

I expected that Trump directing a mob to engage in a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol would prevent him from becoming the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

I was wrong.

Like many American voters, I was disappointed with the two final presidential candidates offered by Democrats and Republicans until last month.

The hope and optimism offered by Harris and Walz have led me to publicly support a presidential candidate for the first time in 16 years.

I have voted for Republican candidates for various offices more than 80% of the time. My overwhelming support of Republican candidates through the years should make me an ally of my fellow Republicans today. (Reagan also said, “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.”)

However, I know my loyalty to the Republican Party will be questioned because of my decision to support Harris and Walz. I will likely be labeled a traitor or a RINO — a Republican In Name Only.

In the face of this criticism, I urge my fellow Republicans to consider this: Supporting Harris and Walz is not about abandoning the Republican Party.

It is about standing up for the principles the party once represented — principles that I believe will be at risk if Trump returns to the White House.

I know that many Republicans are conflicted about Trump. They privately admit they do not support him, yet they feel trapped by the party’s cult of personality around Trump.

To them, I say this: You have a choice. You do not have to vote for Trump simply because he is the Republican candidate. You can support a candidate who you believe will better serve the country, even if that candidate comes from the other side of the political aisle.

This election can also be your time for choosing, as it is not just about rejecting Trump and JD Vance; it is about embracing a vision of leadership essential for this country’s future.

Harris is qualified, capable and committed to the country’s best interests. While I may disagree with her on many policy issues, I do not doubt her love for this country or her dedication to its institutions.

I watched Walz go from congressman to governor, and I have come to respect him. He embodies a joyful politics that serves as a welcome reprieve from the divisiveness that has become so prevalent in our political discourse.

It is in Walz’s political DNA to unite people, and he is the right person to serve alongside Harris.

This election is about reaffirming that character still matters in our politics. It is about defending the values that first drew me to the Republican Party and ensuring that those values, such as defending the Constitution instead of suspending it, have a place in our country’s future.

On Nov. 5, 1984, Reagan addressed the nation the night before the presidential election. He said:

“This election offers us the clearest choice in many years: whether we go forward together with courage, confidence and common sense, making America strong again, or turn back to policies that weakened our economy, diminished our leadership in the world and reversed America’s long-revered tradition of progress.”

Forty years later, I am making the clearest choice I’ve had in any election. I, too, choose to go forward together with courage, confidence and common sense.

Michael Brodkorb is the former deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota. He lives in Eagan.