Today, there is one less Republican in the Texas legislature and one more Democrat -- and it didn't take an election to do it. Yesterday, State Rep. Kirk England (Grand Prairie) announced that he is switching his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. He said he will run for re-election as a Democrat.
In the last election, England won the seat by a slim 250-vote margin over Democrat Katy Hubener. She was planning to run against him again next year, but has put those plans on hold since his switch to the Democratic Party. District 106, currently represented by the new Democrat, covers Grand Prairie and the southern part of Irving.
Did England see the "writing on the wall" with the growing unpopularity of Republicans? Possibly. This is a working and middle class district, and would probably have gone Democratic in the next election, whether England switched parties or not. Now the liklihood is even greater.
England said he switched parties because, "After one session in the House, I found that the Republican leadership in Austin had no tolerance for the values and priorities of the folks I represent. I trust the voters in District 106, and I am confident that my friends and neighbors agree that doing what is right is more important than partisan politics."
England listed his priorities as public education, the Children's Health Insurance Program and rising utility rates. Sounds to me like he's already thinking like a Democrat!
Holly South, librarian at the Legislative Reference Library in Austin, said there hasn't been an instance of a sitting Representative switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party in the last 100 years in Texas. This may be a rare thing right now, but if the Republican leadership continues their self-defeating policies, there may be others to follow England soon.
Whatever his reasons, I welcome Rep. England to the people's party, and to the party of reality-based political thinking. There's always room for one more in the "big tent" Democratic Party.
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