Barbara Pierce Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush and granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush, has confirmed her support for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
In a Tuesday statement to People, the health care activist acknowledged having spent part of the weekend in Pennsylvania campaigning on behalf of Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
“It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend,” she told the outlet. “I’m hopeful they’ll move our country forward and protect women’s rights.”
Despite her family’s historic ties to the Republican Party, Barbara Pierce Bush’s endorsement of Harris is not likely to come as a surprise to those familiar with her recent history.
In 2017, she spoke at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in her home state of Texas, noting that she’d anticipated Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump in the presidential election the previous year.
“In October when I was asked to speak, I said yes and I was thrilled, but I was under the assumption that history was going to go differently,” she said, according to The Texas Tribune. “That was not meant to be a political statement; I just thought the cards were going to fall in a different way. I’m so happy I said yes because this work could not matter more.”
In 2010, Barbara Pierce Bush and her sister, Jenna Bush Hager, told People they didn’t identify as Republican or Democrat, and have since been described as independents.
George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush have not publicly shared how they plan to vote in this year’s presidential election. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, confirmed last month that he plans to cast his vote for Harris.