As the Democrats continue to embrace extremist positions that even leftist leaders of a few decades ago would have rejected, a growing number of Americans are turning their backs on the party.
A study conducted last year revealed that more than 1 million voters switched their registration from Democratic to Republican across 43 states — a significantly higher number than those whose switch went the other way.
Colorado resident Ben Smith told PBS that Democratic policies on issues like crime, race, and vaccine mandates prompted his decision, adding: “It’s more so a rejection of the left than embracing the right.”
Perhaps more compelling is the recent rise in the number of elected Democratic officials who are leaving the party.
In just the last month, at least three Democratic state lawmakers have announced their switch to the GOP. Most recently, Louisiana state Rep. Jeremy LaCombe added his name to the list.
Although he did not immediately announce a reason for his choice, it came just a few weeks after another member of the same body — state Rep. Francis Thompson — made a similar move, which gave Republicans supermajority status in the state House.
In North Carolina, state Rep. Tricia Cotham similarly secured a supermajority for the GOP when she changed her affiliation from Democratic to Republican earlier this month.
Earlier in the year, the entire town council of East Hanover, New Jersey, including the mayor, announced that they had united as Republicans in an effort “to best represent their constituents.
State and local lawmakers have a great deal of influence over the laws that directly impact citizens, so the shift away from the Democratic Party is significant wherever it happens. But the trend has also been seen on the national stage.
Late last year, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent. Since she did not formally align with the GOP, the move did not change the balance of power in the narrowly divided chamber, but she has since expressed frustrations with the leadership of her former party.
Kyrsten Sinema shreds Democrats: ‘Ridiculous … old dudes eating Jell-O’ — report https://t.co/VoE3IMyJun pic.twitter.com/SDip40yxuf
— New York Post (@nypost) March 23, 2023
As for why so many politicians and rank-and-file Democrats are leaving the party, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel offered her take ahead of last year’s midterm elections.
“Biden and Democrats are woefully out of touch with the American people, and that’s why voters are flocking to the Republican Party in droves,” she said.
