A newly elected state legislator from California has declared her departure from the Democratic Party to join the Republican Party. California State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil stated that she no longer aligns herself with the Democratic ideology. She contends that the party has shifted significantly to the Left in recent years.
“In the past two years that I’ve been working in the Senate, I have not recognized the party that I belong to,” she told The Steve Hilton Show.
“The Democratic Party is not the party that I signed up for decades ago.”
She has now aligned herself with the outnumbered Republican opposition in California, which is largely controlled by liberal Democrats.
“It’s not a very popular decision to leave a supermajority party where perhaps, you know, you have a lot more power and ability,” she said.
“But this is a decision that is right for the constituents that voted me into office.”
Alvarado-Gil serves a predominantly rural, Republican-leaning district in the state Senate, encompassing parts of Central California, including the cities of Modesto and Turlock. She successfully defeated a progressive Democrat in the general election after emerging from a non-partisan primary that featured numerous Republican candidates. Throughout her tenure in Sacramento, she has gained a reputation for her independent approach, particularly regarding crime-related issues.
In an interview with the Sacramento Bee, she expressed that her “last straw” occurred when Democrats compromised a series of stringent crime bills she endorsed by introducing “poison pill” amendments. Democrat State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire remarked that her choice is “disappointing for voters” who supported her in the 2022 election.
“They trusted her to represent them, and she’s betrayed that trust,” he said in a statement.
“One silver lining is MAGA Republicans are gaining a pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+ rights, anti-Trump colleague.
“We wish her the best of luck.”
