Cheney, a member of the former House Jan. 6 committee and lifelong Republican, made clear that her activism for Harris occurred by no coincidence in the town of Ripon, the GOP’s birthplace in 1854.

“I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray tanning,” Cheney told a crowd of receptive Harris supporters. “I have never voted for a Democrat. But this year, I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Cheney first disclosed last month she would be casting her ballot for Harris, perhaps an unsurprising, if not expected, revelation given her long disdain for Trump that ultimately led the former third-ranking House Republican to lose her seat. But in a move days later that caught many Democrats off guard, her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, also endorsed Harris.

Liz Cheney emphasized Thursday that her motivation to stump for Harris was singular in nature: her opinion on Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of the 2021 Capitol riot.

“Our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before: a former president who attempted to stay in power by unraveling the foundations of our republic, by refusing to accept the lawful results confirmed by dozens of courts of the 2020 election,” Liz Cheney claimed, repeating a frequent Democratic talking point. “In this election, putting patriotism ahead of partisanship is not an aspiration. It is our duty.”

Just before she took the stage, the Republican National Committee sought to turn the focus back to the pocketbook issues facing voters in the pivotal swing state.

“Kamala Harris wants to spend American taxpayers’ money to fund foreign wars and illegal immigration while Wisconsinites pay over $9,500 more on transportation, nearly $4,000 more on food, $4,601 more on shelter, and $4,334 more on energy since Harris took office,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. “Voters in Wisconsin and across the country will stop Kamala Harris from spending trillions of taxpayer dollars and ripping off hardworking Americans by voting for President Trump’s America First policies that will Make American Wealthy Again!”

During remarks that went a little more than 20 minutes, Liz Cheney recalled details her committee uncovered of Trump privately watching the chaos unfold at the Capitol as his supporters temporarily halted the 2020 election certification. She assailed the GOP presidential nominee for, in her view, lacking “an ounce of compassion” and being “petty,” “vindictive,” “cruel,” and “not fit to lead this good and great nation.”

Liz Cheney once referred to Harris in 2020 as a “radical liberal.” Now, four years later, she took a thinly veiled swipe at elected officials in her own party who she said “minimize” Trump’s actions.

“Any person who would do these things can never be trusted with power again,” she said. “To say things like I’ve heard from others, ‘Don’t worry, our institutions held that day.’ We have a responsibility, all of us, to remind people that our institutions don’t defend themselves. We the people have to do that.”

Harris, who was flanked by Liz Cheney after being introduced to the stage, lauded the former Republican lawmaker for her “courage” at a time when there are “powerful forces that have been intent on trying to demean and belittle and make people afraid.” She also thanked Dick Cheney, who was not in attendance.

Prior to the event, the vice president also met with members of Wisconsin Republicans for Harris, according to the campaign.

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Harris told the crowd that although she and Liz Cheney “may not see eye to eye on every issue,” she expressed hope for returning “to a healthy two-party system.”

“If people across Wisconsin and our nation are willing to do what Liz is doing — to stand up for the rule of law, for our democratic ideals, and the constitution of the United States — then together, I know we can chart a new way forward, not as members of any one party, but as Americans,” Harris said.