Two African-American Democrats on Thursday announced that they were joining the Republican Party.
Hall County Commissioner Ashley Bell and former state executive committee member Andre Walker said the Democratic Party had grown too liberal and they are finding a new home with the Republicans.
The state GOP touted Bell as the first black elected official in modern times in Georgia to leave the Democrats for the GOP. But that distinction belongs to former state Sen. Roy Allen of Savannah, who joined the Republican Party in 1994.
Bell was introduced as a Republican at a news conference Thursday at party headquarters.
“My district is pretty Republican as it is,” Bell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “My wife and I have been thinking about this for six months.”
The Austin American-Statesman reports:
State Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, is considering switching to the Republican Party, he told the online Rio Grande Guardian in an interview posted Friday night.
After Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka mentioned rumors of a Pena party switch on his blog earlier this week, Pena received a flood of calls from Democrats and Republicans, he said. (Burka quickly took down his post.)
“Many of the Democrats are still thinking the party can be reformed and that perhaps, in a decade, we can be competitive again,” Pena said. “Many of the calls from Republicans, including lawmakers, were that our community can still have a seat at the table now. Why wait a decade when you can have opportunities now? And so, after the large number of calls today and the growing speculation, I can say I am taking the matter under consideration and I will issue a public statement in the coming days, one way or the other. I am who I am and my intention is to represent my community and to give them the best possible advantage under the current environment.”
The Merrillville [IN] Post-Tribune reports:
Two of the town's elected officials have switched parties.
Clerk-Treasurer Amy Sund and Councilman John Foreman have declared they are joining the Republican Party, Lake County GOP Chairwoman Kim Krull said in a news release.
"With the huge wins we had last month and the organization we are putting together I am sure we will see more people interested in joining the Republican Party," Krull said.
Sund, who has worked in the clerk's office nine years and is in her first term as clerk-treasurer, said she had been thinking about the switch for several months.
"I'm fiscally conservative," Sund said. "I have no problem with the local Democratic Party, but there appears a lack of leadership and organization. I prefer to be with people who are more organized and work together as a team."
