Three state lawmakers have now switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in the last month. It’s part of a decades-long trend that’s helped the GOP consolidate power in certain states, handing them majorities, and even supermajorities.
On Monday, Louisiana Rep. Jeremy LaCombe became the second Democrat in the state house to defect, just weeks after Rep. Francis Thompson announced his decision to leave the party. Thompson’s decision gave Republicans a supermajority in the state house; North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham also gave Republicans a supermajority in that state’s house when she announced her decision to switch parties earlier this month. Republicans in both states now have the power to override their Democratic governors’ vetos as a result.
Party switching isn’t a new phenomenon. A total of 169 state legislators have switched parties since 1994, according to Ballotpedia. The changes have largely benefited the Republican Party, with 80 Democrats joining the GOP and only 23 Republicans becoming Democrats in the last 30 years. Those Republican pickups were mostly in states that were once more purple — such as Mississippi and Louisiana — that have since taken hard right turns, and where the GOP has entrenched their power through gerrymandering.
The trend isn’t limited to state government. US Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona left the Democratic Party late last year and plans to run as an independent in 2024. And in 2019, US Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey notably broke Democratic ranks to vote against impeaching former President Donald Trump and declared that he would be switching parties. But it is more common at the state level, and the recent changes give rise to the question: Why are there suddenly so many party switchers at once?
Each of the state lawmakers have their individual reasons. Cotham said that she was bullied by her Democratic…
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