A fed-up Democratic senator from California has made it clear that he is switching to the Republican Party because his party has changed beyond recognition under current leadership and policies.
State Sen. Marie Alvarado Gil, a longtime Democrat, announced the news of her departure late Thursday, saying the values she shared with Democrats when she was elected in the 2022 election have now changed.
“During the last two years that I’ve been serving as a senator, I have not recognised my party,” the congressman said during a television appearance. Fox News.
“The Democratic Party is not the party I joined decades ago.”
“My values and my responsibility to represent the voters of California mean that I cannot in good conscience continue to call myself a Democrat,” she added.
Alvarado Gil, who represents a mostly rural district in the northeast Central Valley, said the state’s left-wing policies under Gov. Gavin Newsom are hurting California’s middle class and children, without elaborating.
“I was elected to serve the people, not because of political ideology,” the congressman said in a statement about his decision.
“The status quo with Democrat supermajorities in the Legislature simply isn’t working in this state.”
Alvarado Gil was considered a moderate before switching from Democrats, but he was known for his support for tough-on-crime and fiscally conservative views and has voted with Republicans on labor bills.
“It takes courage to stand up to California’s supermajority, and Marie has that,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said in a statement.
“Her record of fighting crime, protecting our communities from sexually violent predators and putting her constituents first speaks for itself.”
Her switch gives Republicans nine votes out of 40 senators.
Alvarado Gil, who presides over a conservative-leaning district, faced off against a progressive Democrat and won the 2022 election by more than five percentage points.
She and her Democratic rival defeated six Republican candidates in the primary.
Her district has moved slightly to the right since the last election, with about 39% of registered voters in 2024 identifying as Republicans compared to 34% identifying as Democrats.
Alvarado Gil is not up for re-election until 2026.
She joins a long list of Democrats across the country who have defected from the party in recent years.
Louisiana Rep. Jeremy Lacombe and North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham made headlines last year when they each abandoned their left wing to register as Republicans.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin also left the Democratic party earlier this year but registered as an independent, decrying “partisan extremism” and declaring that “our national politics are broken.”
With post wire
