Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he will switch his party registration to Republican.
According to KETV, McDonnell stated that he’d been a registered Democrat since 1984. But, in recent years, the issue of abortion has alienated him within his party (via KETV):
"I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious-based pro-life position. Instead, over the last year, they have decided to punish me for being pro-life," McDonnell said. "The Douglas County Democrats voted not to seat me as a delegate and not to share party resources with me because I am pro-life."
McDonnell also said the state Democrats voted to censure him because of his views on abortion.
WOWT noted that McDonnell has voted for legislation limiting abortion access and so-called “gender-affirming” care for transgender people.
🚨Catholic Nebraska State Sen. Mike McDonnell sends Democrat Party into SHOCK after announcing he’s LEAVING Party on LIVE TV to become a Republican after Democrats openly PUNISH him for being Pro-Life:
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 4, 2024
“I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious-based pro-life… pic.twitter.com/XB0WqmTi1c
"The Nebraska Democratic Party will continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community. Our decision to censure Sen. McDonnell was never about him being a pro-life Catholic. Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions. We respect the ongoing work of Senator McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state," Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a statement.
McDonnell is the latest state lawmaker to switch to the Republican Party in recent years. Last year, a state lawmaker in Georgia left the Democratic Party to join the GOP after she reportedly angered her Democratic colleagues over a bill promoting school choice, which Townhall covered.
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“I represent a blue district in the city of Atlanta so this wasn’t a political decision for me. It was a a MORAL one,” Rep. Mesha Mainor, the lawmaker who changed parties, stated. “I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own.”
A few months prior, a Democratic state representative in North Carolina announced that she would switch political parties and become a Republican, giving the state House a GOP supermajority.
“The modern day Democratic has become unrecognizable to me and to so many others throughout this state and this country. The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgment, has solutions, who wants to get to work to better our state, not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop, but really work with individuals to get things done because that’s what real public servants do,” Rep. Tricia Cotham said. “If you don’t do exactly what the Democrats want you to do, they will try to bully you. They will try to cast you aside.”
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