What I Felt Speaking at the Democratic Convention as a Republican

If you had told me, when I was running for Congress in 2010, that I would be speaking at a presidential nominating convention in 2024, I would have thought my political career had taken off. Getting a speaking slot at a convention usually means that your party likes you and wants to showcase you and invest in your future. Getting invited to speak at the opposing party’s convention, well, that signals something entirely different.

When I first received the invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention, I wasn’t exactly surprised. Rumors had been circulating that I would be speaking with other Republicans, and I seem to have been the last to hear about it. I discussed it in my head. I knew it would raise eyebrows. Some in my party, my peer group, and my family would accuse me of treason, and others would question my motives. I knew there would be angry text messages and probably a few lost friendships saying, “I could take you to investigate January 6, but that’s too far away.” (And of course, all of that happened.) Despite accusations from a few friends, I was not paid for the speech, and I would not have accepted the money if it had been offered.

What was clear to me was not so clear to my friends and former supporters: I was not going to become a Democrat. They were simply the only party that offered me a chance to carry my message to the entire country. It was not about partisanship, but about defending the principles I had sworn to protect, principles that transcended partisan lines, principles that had inspired my career as a Republican politician in the first place.

Accepting the invitation did not mean accepting every policy position of the Democratic Party. It meant joining forces with those who still believe in the core principles of our nation: the rule of law, the sanctity of our elections, and the peaceful transfer of power. These are the cornerstones of our democracy, and they deserve to be defended, no matter the political cost.

So I accepted the invitation.

The convention speaking process is mechanical: You rehearse in a different room the night before, review edits to the speech, and make final adjustments. On the day of, you apply makeup (to account for the bright lights of the arena), enjoy a quiet moment backstage to collect your thoughts, and then it’s time to deliver the speech itself. It can be overwhelming, and I wish I’d taken a few more photos to remember those moments.

Before I took the podium, I paused to reflect on how this young man who ran for Congress fourteen years ago ended up at the DNC. The American political landscape has changed dramatically. Polarization, rising extremism, and the erosion of our democratic norms have reached a critical point. I have watched colleagues once devoted to the Constitution and our democratic institutions slowly compromise those values in the name of political expediency.

It was painful, to say the least, to watch my party, which once stood for limited government, individual liberty, and national security, become drawn into authoritarianism and conspiracy theories. I do not regret speaking out, but I wish I had done so more often and sooner.

I chatted with people backstage to calm myself down and slow my heart rate. I tried not to think about the task ahead of me until my name was announced. It worked well – the adrenaline has a way of calming me down.

As I stepped on stage, I was acutely aware of the gravity of the moment. The lights, the cameras, the crowd of faces—even for a former politician, it felt like a grand spectacle. But the weight of the message I was about to deliver helped me ground myself. I knew that if I succeeded, I would have to endure a wave of attacks online and on television from people I was close to. I knew that if I failed, I would face humiliation and ridicule from those same people.

I spoke from my heart. I did not hesitate to run as a conservative and a Republican in spite of the audience before me, because I knew that this was not my audience. Instead, I spoke to my Republican colleagues about the dangers of extremism, the importance of putting country before party, and the urgent need for introspection. I spoke directly to those who might feel disillusioned, to those who might feel that their party no longer represented their values. I encouraged them to join me in putting our country first.

The response was overwhelming. Yes, I lost friends, but I also received countless messages of support from people across the political spectrum. Many Republicans reached out to tell me that they too felt lost in the current political climate and appreciated my willingness to speak out. Democrats, independents, and others expressed gratitude for my remarks. (I later learned that Fox News had cut my speech and those of other Republicans at the DNC. I suppose that’s a measure of success.)

I would have been proud to speak at the Republican convention this year. If I had been invited, I would have spoken on the same themes: respect for the Constitution, the precariousness of democracy, the indispensability of the rule of law—all of which I learned from the Reagan-era Republican Party that I joined. If Republicans aren’t interested in that message and Democrats are, I think that says more about them than it does about me.

I will continue to speak out, challenge extremism, and stand up for what is right, no matter the personal or political cost. And I hope that others, regardless of their political affiliation, will join me in this effort. Our democracy depends on it.