By Alyssa Robinson 
Photo Credit: Politico /Henri Campeã
On May 6, 2023, Eric Johnson won his reelection campaign for Mayor of Dallas. The decade-long Democrat-affiliated candidate won his election with 93% of the vote. On September 22, 2023, Johnson announced his change of party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. While the office of Mayor in Dallas is nonpartisan, Johnson had previously served as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives. Johnson primarily cites his complaints about how “Democrat Run cities” are managed and argues that cities need fiscally conservative policies and tough-on-crime policies to restore peace. Johnson wrote in an Op-ed to the New York Times “Unfortunately, many of our cities are in disarray. Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint. Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cities as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enterprise.”
Johnson is just one of the latest politicians to find themselves changing political parties. In 2023 alone, 10 state lawmakers have changed political affiliation from one of the major parties to the other. While the reasons vary from one person to another, West Virginia lawmaker Elliot Pritt cites, “a desire to more effectively represent his constituents and take advantage of the opportunities enjoyed by Republicans who wield supermajority control in the state Legislature”, as his primary motivator for switching from a Democrat to a Republican. While Pritt’s constituents had voted him in while he was still identified as a Democrat, he noticed that his base was turning away from legislation that restricted industries such as coal mining. Restrictions on the coal industry are policies that are typically supported by Democrats. In West Virginia, 11, 511 people are involved in the coal industry making any form of legislation that could impact the industry a potential key issue for voters in the state.
For some politicians, the benefits of switching parties are immediate. In an article from Politico, Pritt found that “his calls to state agencies are returned, something that he said didn’t happen when he ran with a “D” next to his name on the ballot.” Politicians such as Pritt also argue that their choice to switch parties is motivated by a desire to better serve their constituents, and as a result, they don’t fear the next election cycle. However, party lines are not typically crossed by the average voter. In 2022 96% of Democrats supported a Democratic candidate in the November election, and 94% of Republicans did the same for their side.
Johnson’s announcement made it clear that he is severing ties with the Democratic Party stating,
“I have no intention of changing my approach to my job. But today I am changing my party affiliation. Next spring, I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican”.
Outside of Dallas, the question remains how voters, the major parties, and politicians themselves should navigate elections with the looming possibility that a politician can switch parties after they are elected. While the evidence on how party switching affects a candidate’s political career isn’t overwhelmingly evident, it is clear that opposing parties take switching seriously. Following Johnson’s announcement, the Texas Democratic Party released a statement saying,
“The voters of Dallas deserved to know where he stood before he ran for reelection as Mayor. He wasn’t honest with his constituents and knew he would lose to a Democrat if he flipped before the election. In a city that deserves dedicated leadership, Mayor Johnson has been an ineffective and truant mayor, not only disconnected from Democratic values but unable to even be an effective messenger for conservative local policy.”