A recently elected California state lawmaker has announced she is leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican.
California State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil said she no longer identifies with the Democrats.
She argues that the party has moved radically to the Left in recent years.
โIn the past two years that Iโve been working in the Senate, I have not recognized theย party that I belong to,โ she told The Steve Hilton Show.
โThe Democratic Partyย is not theย partyย that I signed up for decades ago.โ
She now joins the outgunned Republican opposition in California, which is dominated by liberal Democrats.
โItโs not a very popular decision to leave a supermajority party where perhaps, you know, you have a lot more power and ability,โ she said.
โBut this is a decision that is right for the constituents that voted me into office.โ
Alvarado-Gil represents a rural, Republican-leaning district in the state Senate that covers a swath of Central California, including Modesto and Turlock.
She faced a progressive Democrat in the general election, and won, after advancing from a non-partisan primary crowded with Republican candidates.
During her time in Sacramento, she has become known for an independent streak, especially on crime.
She told theย Sacramento Beeย that her โlast strawโ was when the Democrats undermined a set of tough-on-crime bills that she supported with โpoison pillโ amendments.ย
Democrat State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said her decision โis disappointing for votersโ who elected her in 2022.
โThey trusted her to represent them, and sheโs betrayed that trust,โ he said in a statement.
โOne silver lining is MAGA Republicans are gaining a pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+ rights, anti-Trump colleague.
โWe wish her the best of luck.โ
However, Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones applauded her independence.
โIt takes courage to stand up to the supermajority in California andย Marie has what it takes,โ Jones said in a statement.
โHer record on tackling crime, protecting communities from sexually violent predators, and prioritizing her constituents speaks for itself.โ
Republicans often point to California as a cautionary tale of unchecked liberalism.
Residents have fled the state over vagrancy, crime, and the high cost of living.
Recently, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has started to crack down on the tent encampments that plague Californiaโs cities.
READ MORE โ Violent California Pedo Arrested for Brutal Attack on a Child: โAbsolute Monsterโ
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