Five state lawmakers switched affiliation while in office this year.
When Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced his switch from Democrat to Republican in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he wrote he had “no intention of changing my approach to my job” but that American cities needed the fiscal conservatism and law enforcement that Republicans push for.
And he’s not alone. This year has already seen five state lawmakers switch affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Last year, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) switched from Democrat to Independent. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has said he’s giving serious consideration to leaving the Democratic Party, and is reportedly aiming for a third party bid in 2024 for the Oval Office. In 2022, it was reported that 1 million voters had switched to the Republican Party, compared to 630,000 who became Democrats.
While switching parties is not unique, doing so while holding a partisan elected office is much more rare. According to Ballotpedia, 173 legislators have done so while in office since 1994, mostly in favor of the Republican Party.
Mr. Johnson’s office is not a partisan one, which he noted in his op-ed.
“I was never a favorite of the Democratic caucus, and the feeling was mutual. By the time I was elected mayor—a nonpartisan office—in 2019, I was relieved to be free from hyperpartisanship and ready to focus on solving problems,” he wrote.
Local Issues
The state lawmakers’ reasons for switching are not “grandiose” statements about the nation, according to Georgia state representative Mesha Mainor, speaking for herself. In most cases, the reasons for the change in party affiliation were local, and even personal.
A former healthcare provider, Ms. Mainor spent 20 years working with people of all backgrounds trying to find them solutions, and said she joined the state assembly expecting to do the same. But she quickly learned that her party was not open to working across the aisle, and several times insisted she vote down Republican bills, not because it was bad policy, but because Democrats wanted to send a message.
