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    LIVENewsWeatherSportsWakeUpReal MKEContests More    Watch Live Expand / Collapse search ☰ Search site    News LocalWisconsin's Most WantedFOX6 InvestigatorsPodcastsPoliticsFOX6 News Insta-PollFOX LOCAL mobile appWeather Severe weather alertsFOX6 Storm Center appFOX6 Live Cam NetworkFOX Weather appFOX WeatherClosingsFuture ForecasterFOX6 Snow Stick webcamMoney Contact 6FOX6 CentsRecallsConsumer ReportsPersonal FinanceBusinessSmall BusinessWakeUp Submit for Look Who's 6Look Who's 6Real MilwaukeeOut and AboutInterviewsFoodGino At The MoviesMilwaukee Traffic TrackerSports Milwaukee BucksMilwaukee BrewersGreen Bay Packers2025 NFL DraftMilwaukee AdmiralsBeyond The GameWisconsin BadgersMarquette Golden EaglesHigh School Hot ShotsWatch LIVE How to streamLIVE FOX6 newscastsFOX6 Live Cam NetworkLiveNOW from FOXFOX WeatherFOX SportsFOX SoulFOX News SundayFOX6 Social Media YouTubeFacebookInstagramThreadsBlueskyX (formerly Twitter)TikTokFacebook (FOX6 Weather)X (FOX6 Weather)Entertainment FOX6 TV listingsFOX ShowsContestsCommunity Things To DoCommunity ConnectionBuddy Check 6Fish Fry FinderBeer Garden FinderRegional, Live News Chicago News - FOX 32Minneapolis News - FOX 9Detroit News - FOX 2LiveNOW from FOXContact Us Sign up for email alertsFOX6 Mobile AppsFOX6 News TeamJobs at FOX6Internships at FOX6EEO ReportPublic File HelpFCC ApplicationsClosed Captioning InfoDTV Reception QuestionsSales & Advertising FOX6 Sales TeamAdvertise with FOX6FOX FOCUSSponsored content      Waukesha mayor endorses Kamala Harris; red city mayor plans to vote blue By Jason Calvi
      and FOX6 News Digital Team Published 
      October 23, 2024 10:00pm CDT
     2024 Election FOX6 News Milwaukee   Share Copy Link Email Facebook Twitter  LinkedIn Reddit       Waukesha mayor endorses Kamala Harris Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly exclusively told FOX6 News he's voting for Democrat Kamala Harris for president. The Brief Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly exclusively told FOX6 News he's voting for Democrat Kamala Harris for president.Reilly said he left the Republican Party on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of the former president stormed the Capitol.Former President Donald Trump won 17,000 more votes in Waukesha County in 2020 compared with 2016, but his percentage of the county stayed at about 60%.Reilly was reelected in 2022. WAUKESHA, Wis. - The mayor of Waukesha exclusively told FOX6 News he's voting for Democrat Kamala Harris for president.   It's a Republican city in Wisconsin's largest Republican county.  Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly    Mayor Shawn Reilly grew up a Republican and voted that way for most of his adult life. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News "It's difficult. The easy thing to do is just not say anything and cast my vote the way I want, but I think we're at a crossroads now," Reilly said. "I feel in my heart that this is something that I need to come out and say: I am going to be voting for Vice President Harris to become our next president." Reilly revealed to FOX6 he voted third party in 2016 and for President Joe Biden in 2020 but kept that to himself. For other offices, he said he votes Republican "more often than not." Now this red city mayor is publicly endorsing blue for president. "It is a vote against Trump," he said. "I am terrified of Donald Trump becoming our next president for all the reasons I have indicated: he's already been impeached twice. He's been convicted of felonies and this is not what the United States needs."    Reilly said he left the Republican Party on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of the former president stormed the Capitol. He now joins other Republicans who backed Harris. Former high-ranking House Republican Liz Cheney campaigned with Harris in Brookfield this week and Reilly was there, where he was spotted clapping while seated in the audience. Some are switching parties the other way. Former Democratic United States Representative Tulsi Gabbard this year backed former President Donald Trump. She said he will help walk the world away from war. "It’s important for leaders in the Republican Party to go out and go to places where they may not be in a dark red republican state," she told FOX6 in an interview weeks before her endorsement of the former president. "Really, there is an opportunity here in this election to try and build those bridges and reach out to people who feel politically homeless and left behind." 
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      article Vice President Kamala Harris Wisconsin visit; Brookfield campaign event Kamala Harris teamed up with Liz Cheney for a campaign event in Brookfield, Wis. on Monday, Oct. 21. Trump won the City of Waukesha in both 2016 and 2020. In 2016, he won it by 11 points. In 2020, the lead shrunk to 5.5 points. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android. Trump's lead in the broader county was larger. He won 17,000 more votes in Waukesha County in 2020 compared with 2016, but his percentage of the county stayed at about 60%. That underperformed what other Republicans won in this crucial county, including Gov. Scott Walker who won 66% in 2018 and 72% in 2014. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won 66% in 2012. Republicans criticized Reilly's endorsement. "Only voters already committed to Kamala Harris care one iota about what a liberal like Shawn Reilly thinks," Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming said in a statement provided to FOX6 News.  Vice President Kamala Harris   As for Reilly? "I'm going to put up with repercussions for this," he said. "There's going to be a lot of people who are not happy with what I say, and there will be a lot of people who are happy with what I have to say. But when you're in this job, that's your daily life, anyways." Waukesha reelected him in 2022. He said he doesn't plan on running again when his term runs out in 2026, a decision he made long before he decided to publicly endorse Harris.   2024 ElectionYou DecideWaukeshaNewsKamala Harris            DAILY NEWSLETTER All the news you need to know, every day        By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.               News LocalWisconsin's Most WantedFOX6 InvestigatorsPodcastsPoliticsFOX6 News Insta-PollFOX LOCAL mobile appWeather Severe weather alertsFOX6 Storm Center appFOX6 Live Cam NetworkFOX Weather appFOX WeatherClosingsFuture ForecasterFOX6 Snow Stick webcamMoney Contact 6FOX6 CentsRecallsConsumer ReportsPersonal FinanceBusinessSmall BusinessWakeUp Submit for Look Who's 6Look Who's 6Real MilwaukeeOut and AboutInterviewsFoodGino At The MoviesMilwaukee Traffic TrackerSports Milwaukee BucksMilwaukee BrewersGreen Bay Packers2025 NFL DraftMilwaukee AdmiralsBeyond The GameWisconsin BadgersMarquette Golden EaglesHigh School Hot ShotsWatch LIVE How to streamLIVE FOX6 newscastsFOX6 Live Cam NetworkLiveNOW from FOXFOX WeatherFOX SportsFOX SoulFOX News SundayFOX6 Social Media YouTubeFacebookInstagramThreadsBlueskyX (formerly Twitter)TikTokFacebook (FOX6 Weather)X (FOX6 Weather)Entertainment FOX6 TV listingsFOX ShowsContestsCommunity Things To DoCommunity ConnectionBuddy Check 6Fish Fry FinderBeer Garden FinderRegional, Live News Chicago News - FOX 32Minneapolis News - FOX 9Detroit News - FOX 2LiveNOW from FOXContact Us Sign up for email alertsFOX6 Mobile AppsFOX6 News TeamJobs at FOX6Internships at FOX6EEO ReportPublic File HelpFCC ApplicationsClosed Captioning InfoDTV Reception QuestionsSales & Advertising FOX6 Sales TeamAdvertise with FOX6FOX FOCUSSponsored content facebooktwitterinstagramthreadsyoutubeemail  New Privacy PolicyUpdated Terms of UseYour Privacy ChoicesFCC Public FileEEO Public FileAbout UsJobs at FOX6Contact Us This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX Television Stations




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