Conservative Former Judge J. Michael Luttig Endorses Kamala Harris

J. Michael Luttig, a retired Republican federal appeals court judge, announced that he is endorsing Kamala Harris in the presidential race, citing concerns over former President Donald Trump’s candidacy.
“I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for President, Vice President Kamala Harris,” Luttig said in a message published by CNN on Monday.
Luttig said his primary reason for endorsing Harris and opposing Trump is “the war on America’s Democracy that was instigated by the former president and his allies on January 6, 2021.” The former judge emphasized that safeguarding democracy is “his top priority.”
“While I may differ with Vice President Harris on many policy issues, this election is about America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,” he said. “These are the principles all Americans should be focused on.”
Luttig’s endorsement is noteworthy given his conservative background. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where he became known as a leading conservative voice. His potential nomination to the Supreme Court in the early 2000s was widely supported by conservatives, though President George W. Bush ended up passing him over for John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Luttig has been a consistent critic of Trump, particularly in the aftermath of the 2020 election when he advised then-Vice President Mike Pence to resist Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results. Luttig’s legal rationale provided the foundation for Pence’s decision to certify Joe Biden’s victory in Congress.
In his Monday statement, Luttig criticized his party for selecting Trump as their standard-bearer, stating, “They have chosen the one man who is singularly unfit to embody and represent America’s sacred Democracy, Constitution, and Rule of Law.”
He further argued that partisan differences must be set aside in this election to prevent Trump from returning to the White House, emphasizing that he is indifferent to Harris’s policy views on other issues in this context.
“The time for America’s choosing has come,” Luttig wrote. “It is time for all Americans to stand and affirm their belief in American Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law.”
With his endorsement on the same day as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicks off, Luttig now joins other high-profile Republicans, including former members of Congress Joe Walsh, Barbara Comstock, and Adam Kinzinger, in endorsing Harris for the presidency.
Kinzinger, who served Illinois’s 16th congressional district from 2010 to January 2023, is scheduled to speak at the event on Thursday, the same night Harris will give her keynote speech.
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