California Democratic state lawmaker announced that she is switching to the Republican Party

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A moderate California Democratic state lawmaker announced Thursday that she is switching to the Republican Party while criticizing her former party's leadership and policies.

State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil said she had long been a Democrat, but she and the Democratic Party no longer have the same values since she was elected in 2022.

“In the past two years that I've been working in the Senate, I have not recognized the party that I belong to,” Alvarado-Gil said in an announcement on “The Steve Hilton Show,” a YouTube series hosted by a former Fox News host and policy adviser to British ex-Prime Minister David Cameron. “The Democratic Party is not the party that I signed up for decades ago.”

 

Been there, done that!

 

She's in a dominantly Republican district. In her one election she came in second in the primary to another Democrat. The Republican vote was split among 4 candidates. In the general election, she scooped up more of their votes and won it. It is likely Republicans in that district would not have allowed that to happen again, hence her switch. (She's only served the one term.) I doubt it will ensure her political survival.