George W. Bush's Daughter Barbara Breaks Silence on Election to Campaign for Kamala Harris (Exclusive)

Barbara Pierce Bush tells PEOPLE she's "hopeful" that voters will back Harris on Nov. 5 to "protect women's rights"

Barbara Pierce Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush and granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush, spent part of her weekend in Pennsylvania campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris with just days to go before the 2024 presidential election.

"It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend," Barbara, 42, shares in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on Tuesday, Oct. 29. "I’m hopeful they'll move our country forward and protect women’s rights."

Barbara’s Republican father served as president from 2001 to 2009. Her mother, former first lady Laura Bush, 77, broke with the party’s stance in 2010 by saying she supports same-sex marriage and abortion. At the time, Laura said abortion should "remain legal, because I think it's important for people, for medical reasons and other reasons."

Related: How Her 3-Year-Old Daughter's Death Convinced First Lady Barbara Bush to Be Pro-Choice: 'The Toughest Issue'

In March 2017, Barbara rallied for Planned Parenthood, speaking at a fundraiser for the women’s health nonprofit.

“I am proud to stand with Planned Parenthood not only because women, regardless of where they are from, deserve to live dignified, healthy lives, [but] … because it’s a really good investment,” she said at the event, according to The Texas Tribune. “We know that when women are healthy, their families and their children are healthier, too.”

Barbara, now a mother of two, told PEOPLE in 2010 that she does not identify with either major political party, and has since been described as an independent.

Related: Barbara Bush Reveals Daughter Spent Time in NICU Named After Her Grandmother: 'It Felt Divine'

While Laura and George, 78, have not weighed in on the 2024 presidential election, George’s vice president Dick Cheney stunned the nation by sharing that he plans to vote for Harris. Cheney’s daughter, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, also endorsed Harris, 60, and has campaigned with the vice president.

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Harris also earned the endorsement of Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of another former Republican president — the late Gerald Ford. Bales' father took office after Richard Nixon resigned in the aftermath of Watergate in 1974.

“America cannot regress back to a divisive paradigm of loathing toward one another and disdain for our Constitution,” Bales wrote on Oct. 21. “We witnessed on January 6 the horrors of what that looks like, and we can never allow a repeat of that tragedy.”

Related: Jenna and Barbara Bush Needed 'Comfort' After Trump's 2016 Election and Miss the 'Softer Side' of Politics

Barbara is a nonprofit leader and author with a master's in public administration from Harvard University. In 2009, she co-founded Global Health Corps, an organization aiming to raise up new generations of leaders who can tackle global health issues.

The former first daughter co-wrote a memoir in 2017 with her fraternal twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager, about their life in the spotlight.

In September, Jenna — who hosts Today with Hoda & Jenna on NBC— told PEOPLE that Barbara inspired her to take leaps she may have otherwise not.

“I don't think I'd have this job. I don't know [that] I would've started this book club. She makes me feel brave and empowered, because she was my first audience,” Jenna said. “She was the first hand I held. And so I always felt supported, even when we were teens, and we threw shoes at each other's head.”

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