CHICAGO — A room full of delegates from Connecticut gathered Monday for their first breakfast meeting of the week at the Democratic National Convention here, which essentially serves as an early-morning pep rally ahead of the convention’s primetime speeches.
But an unexpected visitor dropped by: Chris Shays, the last Republican from Connecticut to serve in Congress.
Shays has been a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump and has supported his Democratic opponent in 2016, 2020 and now in 2024. A few weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris,” which touted the endorsements of more than two dozen GOP officials and lawmakers, including Shays.
But he is going a step further in Chicago to make his support more known for the new presidential nominee. It is rare to find someone attending the nominating convention for the opposite party, especially in the current political climate.
Shays and other Republicans who are supporting Harris were invited by the campaign to attend, but most others were unable to make it because of the short notice. He was only notified a few days ago that he would get access to the United Center, where the prime time speeches are taking place.
Because of the last-minute arrangements, Shays said, he arrived in Chicago to find out he would be sharing a room with three other guests. He said one of them was in town to join the pro-Palestinian protests happening outside of the convention this week. He has since acquired his own accommodations.
He said he will attend several events and other delegation breakfasts, but his plan is to mostly do press and talk with reporters in the media room of the convention hall.
Shays started off his convention week at the Connecticut delegation’s breakfast on Monday morning.
“There were just very few people that I recognized. I’ve been gone a while. It was as little strange being there and knowing so few people. It’s been 12 years, and it was a Democratic event and not a Republican event,” Shays said. “But I’m happy to be here.”
The former congressman, who now resides in Maryland, criticized Trump, calling him “dangerous” and “lazy.” But his vote this November is not just one as an act of protest against the Republican nominee.
“I am excited about her. I’m not just happy. I’m really thrilled,” Shays said. “It’s positive versus negative. It’s honest versus deceit. It’s all the contrasts.”
While many lawmakers and voters were surprised by Biden’s poor debate performance in June, Shays said he picked up earlier that the president is not what he used to be over the course of his decades-long political career. Months before that debate, he wrote an op-ed for the Connecticut Post saying Biden should focus on serving out the rest of his term and pass the baton to another Democrat to run instead.
“People were surprised” about Biden’s performance at the first presidential debate, Shays said Monday. “No one who interacted with him should ever be surprised.”
Shortly after the debate, Shays penned another op-ed, stating that he wanted a candidate to replace Biden who “inspires” him. He believes he found that in Harris, who got Biden’s endorsement the day he dropped out as well as swift support from Democrats across the country and in Connecticut.
“This is really important, but the bottom line is it’s fun to be excited about someone again,” Shays said. “When those two guys were in this race, I thought, ‘where’s the visions?'”
For more than two decades, Shays served Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District, which includes much of Fairfield County and some of New Haven County.
But he lost in 2008 to Democrat Jim Himes, who has held the seat ever since. A once-competitive district has now become one of the safest Democratic districts in Connecticut. And since then, no Connecticut Republicans have served in Congress.
Shays argued that immigration remains a hurdle for the Democratic Party, an issue that has become a major wedge issue in the presidential campaign.
“The challenge for the Democrats is immigration. But their argument should be, we haven’t solved this problem for 30 years. It’s got to be Republican and Democrats. If Republicans want even more restrictions, they’ve got to accept allowing children to become citizens,” Shays said.
That is an argument Democrats, including those in Connecticut, are likely to make at this week’s convention.
A bipartisan border deal crafted in part by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., had picked up some steam in Congress earlier this year, though it did not include some Democratic priorities like pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants.
But with Trump vocally opposed to the deal, it was ultimately blocked by Senate Republicans.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
