US voters lining up to cast their ballots in person read voting guides handed out by volunteers at a polling station in Tempe, Arizona, on the country's election day, 5 November. Photo: AFP/ Olivier Touron
A growing number of Republicans say they don't recognise their party under Trump and they're voting to keep their home blue.
Amy Wudel and Kelli Millett are members of the Arizona Republicans for Harris.
"When he kind of made the political scene in 2016, I just had a distaste for the way that he approached politics and the way that he treated other people. I couldn't tolerate it and I couldn't get behind him as the leader of our party," Millett said.
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Growing number of Republicans voting blue
Wudel said she shared the same views.
"I still think of myself as a conservative, but in 2016, Donald Trump was somebody who I could not support."
"That was the first time I had not voted for the Republican nominee."
Millett said she also would describe herself as conservative in terms of economic policies.
"I believe in small government, and I believe in growing our economy. And as far as economics and I don't think Trump demonstrated that he is the leader in that, especially in his four years in office," she said.
"I'd like to see our party get back to some of those core policies from the Reagan era of being fiscally responsible and being limited government."
A US election worker removes a ballot from an envelope to count and inspect the pages on election day, 5 November, in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: AFP/ Patrick T Fallon
Wudel said she thinks Kamala Harris has a more conservative approach, comparing policy positions to Donald Trump.
"She has moved to the middle, she's made a commitment to find common ground, she is better on free trade. She's better on small business and lowering taxes and she is better on supporting the Constitution, the rule of law," she said.
"Her approach is to keep government more limited, and Donald Trump has talked about how he wants to be a a dictator. On foreign policy, Kamala is definitely more aligned with traditional Republican values of protecting democracy, and Donald Trump would be the opposite of that."
"I would argue that Kamala is the more Conservative candidate, despite the fact that historically, in the past, Republicans have had a more conservative approach. They took a gigantic very large turn when they decided to align themselves with Donald Trump."
She said there has been a large increase in the number of disillusioned Republicans who feel as though their party has been has changed too much under Trump.
"I was involved in group trying to get Republicans not to vote for Donald Trump since 2016, and we started off as like a small group right here in Gilbert, Arizona, we're sort of at the centre of where it started."
She said in 2020 the group grew to 200 members, and today they have more than 1000 volunteers, supporters and donors.
Millet said as a group, they miss John McCain's style of politics.
"I think as Arizonans we do respect and honour John McCain as a great politician, someone who is willing to cross party lines and solve important problems for us."
She said members of the group feel "politically homeless."
"It is very divisive, and I feel personally for me, if Donald Trump wins, he will have transformed the Republican Party into something that I don't recognise and I can't be a part of, and then I will really just have to find a new home."
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