An annoyed Democratic senator from California has announced that she is defecting to the Republican Party because her former party is unrecognizable under its current leadership and policies.
Longtime Democrat and state Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil announced the news of her defection late Thursday, saying the values she shared with the Democratic Party when she ran for office in 2022 have since changed.
“In the last two years of my service in the Senate, I have not recognized the party I belong to,” the congressman said during an appearance on Fox News.
“The Democratic Party is no longer the party I joined decades ago.”
“Because of my values and my commitment to representing the voters of California, I cannot in good conscience continue to call myself a Democrat,” she added.
Alvarado-Gil, who represents a mostly rural district northeast of the Central Valley, said without elaborating that the state’s left-wing policies under Governor Gavin Newsom are hurting California’s middle class and children.
“I was elected to serve the public, not a political ideology,” the MP said in a follow-up statement on her decision.
“The status quo under a two-thirds Democratic majority in the legislature simply does not work for this state.”
Alvarado-Gil, who was considered a moderate Democrat before her resignation, is known for her support of a tough-on-crime approach and a fiscal conservative stance, and has voted with Republicans on labor legislation in the past.
“It takes courage to stand up against the overwhelming majority in California, and Marie has what it takes,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said in a statement.
“Her record of fighting crime, protecting communities from sexually violent predators and prioritizing her constituents speaks for itself.”
As a result of their move, the Republican Party now has nine votes in the 40-member Senate.
Alvarado-Gil, whose district leans conservative, won the 2022 election by more than 5 points after running against a progressive Democrat.
She and her Democratic rival defeated six Republican candidates in the primaries.
Her district has tilted slightly further to the right since the last election: In 2024, Republicans will account for nearly 39% of registered voters, compared to 34% for Democrats.
Alvarado-Gil will not be up for re-election until 2026.
She joins a long list of Democratic lawmakers across the country who have abandoned ship in recent years.
Both Louisiana State Rep. Jeremy LaCombe and North Carolina State Rep. Tricia Cotham made headlines when they turned away from the left and registered as Republicans last year.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia also left the Democratic Party earlier this year – although he was registered as an independent – because he sharply criticized “partisan extremism” and declared that “national politics is broken.”
With post wires
