Former Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent endorses Biden

• By Barbara Sprunt/NPR

Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and a vocal critic of President Trump, has endorsed Joe Biden for president.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t about right or left, it’s not about ideology,” Dent said in an interview Wednesday with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “For me, it’s about right or wrong, stability versus instability, security versus insecurity, you know, normal versus abnormal.”

Dent, a moderate, represented a Lehigh Valley-based district from 2005-2018. He chaired the House Ethics Committee from 2015-2017.

In 2017, Dent announced he would not seek reelection; the following year he resigned before his term officially ended.

He told NPR shortly after he first announced his plans to leave Congress that he was frustrated with increasing partisanship.

“There are groups out there that profit off of this type of instability and uncertainty and chaos. And they put a lot of pressure on members of Congress,” Dent said. “I would tell you there are members in — both political parties right now have some very serious challenges. They’re being pushed into some bad directions. And we need to have a stronger voice from the center of the political spectrum.”

Earlier this month, Dent penned an op-ed for CNN on Biden’s selection of Harris as his running mate, writing, “Harris represents a fresh face and possesses a next generational appeal that Biden does not. Democrats can fall in love with Harris much like they did with previously successful young Democrats, like John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Let’s face it, she’ll give Biden a needed boost in the enthusiasm department.”

With his endorsement, Dent joins a chorus of Republicans who have moved away from President Trump and chosen to back Biden. Several of those Republicans have had feature roles at this week’s Democratic convention, including former Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Cindy McCain, the widow of former Arizona senator John McCain.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel dismissed GOP officials who have come out in support of the Biden-Harris ticket, calling them “never Trumpers.”