Democrats are dealing another blow this week after another lawmaker announced that he was leaving the party to join the Republicans.
In a report published by The Advocate, a Louisiana-based newspaper on Monday, it was revealed that state Rep. Jeremy LaCombe declared his decision to leave the Democratic Party and would be registering as a Republican.
At the time of writing, it remains unclear what prompted LaCombe to leave the party. However, reports revealed that is now the second Louisiana Democrat who switched party affiliations in less than a month and the third nationwide after another state lawmaker in North Carolina did the same.
Last month, Louisiana state Rep. Francis Thompson switched his party affiliation.
In addition, earlier this month, North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham also announced her registration as a Republican, giving the state House a supermajority.
“I am no longer a Democrat, but I remain a public servant, that is what I am called to do. The party that represents me and my principles and what is best for North Carolina is the Republican Party,” Cotham said, adding that “I add Republican to that list,” before noting that she had “been welcomed with open arms” by her new colleagues.
News: Louisiana House Democrats have lost another member to a party switch.
State Rep. Jeremy Lacombe has switched to the GOP. It comes after state Rep. Francis Thompson gave the House GOP a supermajority by switching parties. Developing story: #lalege https://t.co/riin6B9VvG— Sam Karlin (@samkarlin) April 10, 2023
She also explained that “the turning point for me was when I was criticized for using the American flag and the praying hands emoji on all my social media platforms and even on the back of different vehicles that I have.”
“I really could not believe that that was the conversations that was happening at that time, and I was deeply offended,” Cotham said, adding that “to say that that is wrong and not to be able to show off a flag because the others hijack it for something else, why are we at this place in politics?”
According to the recent Fox News poll, the switches come as US President Joe Biden faces a near-record low approval rating among groups that include “women (43% now vs. 42% low), voters ages 45+ (41% vs. 39% low), suburban voters (41% vs. 39% low), rural voters (31% vs. 30% low) and Democrats (81% vs. 78% low) – Democratic men in particular (79% vs. 78% low).”
“Biden is also at a low mark of 41% approval among suburban women. Additionally, a separate recent poll found that only a third of Americans believed Biden deserved to be re-elected in 2024,” the report added.
