Six Democrats and two independent elected officials have defected and joined the Mississippi Republican Party.
“We have had a relentless focus on switching conservative Democrats over to the Republican Party,” Mississippi GOP Chairman Lucien Smith said to WLBT News. “They recognize increasingly that there is only one party that represents the conservative values of our state, and that is the Republican Party.”
Smith said he believes more elected officials will switch parties in the future in deep-red Mississippi.
The former Democrats include District Attorney Matt Sullivan, Chancery Clerk Cindy Austin, Circuit Clerk Anthony Grayson, Tax Assessor-Collector Mary Lou Powell, Beat 4 Supervisor Danny Arender, and Justice Court Judge Hulon West.
Chancery Clerk Guy Easterling and Justice Court Judge Bobby Wayne Mooney switched from being independent to Republican.
“There are conservatives Democrats all across the state of Mississippi, and there was once upon a time when the conservative Democrats controlled this state,” Sullivan said. “It’s a new day in Mississippi, and I believe the Republican Party is growing, and there’s a place in the Republican Party for people like me.”
Newly elected Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said he believes the contrast between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist who is the front-runner in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, and President Trump is partially to blame for the switch.
“We are in a scenario in this country where you can choose to be a member of the party led by Donald J. Trump, or you can choose to be a member of the socialist Democratic party led by Bernie Sanders,” he said.
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat, announced in December that the impeachment investigation into Trump inspired him to switch his party affiliation to Republican.
The party switches also coincide with the Trump campaign touting that Democrats are attending the president’s rallies in large numbers.
