Mainor defects to GOP after refusing to switch parties

Mainor previously said she has "never given thought to switching parties"

Mesha Mainor

A Georgia lawmaker who has bucked her party on major legislation is switching parties after previously declining to do so.

Democratic State Rep. Mesha Mainor is switching to the Republican Party, Fox News first reported Tuesday. She has become an outlier in the Democratic Party for supporting GOP measures, including private school vouchers and state oversight on locally elected prosecutors.

Mainor, who represents a left-leaning district in Midtown Atlanta, says that she has been “crucified” and “abandoned” by her Democratic colleagues. “When I decided to stand up on behalf of disadvantaged children in support of school choice, my Democrat colleagues didn’t stand by me,” Mainor told Fox.

“For far too long, the Democrat Party has gotten away with using and abusing the black community," she added. "For decades, the Democrat Party has received the support of more than 90% of the black community. And what do we have to show for it? I represent a solidly blue district in the city of Atlanta. This isn’t a political decision for me. It’s a moral one.”

Mainor’s defection comes after she seemingly refused to switch parties during a press conference last month. After being asked by yours truly, Mainor said that she had “never given thought to switching parties.” (Listen above)

“Education is a value, and the Democrats just happen to have this value wrong,” Mainor answered, adding that her party needs to change its stance on education and that she will not change her party affiliation.

Mainor’s switch was welcomed by a number of prominent conservatives, from CJ Pearson, to Charlie Kirk and even former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler. “Grateful for her conviction, and her willingness to serve our state – as Georgia’s newest Republican,” Loeffler said of Mainor.

Democrats, meanwhile, also seemed to welcome Mainor’s switch. State Sen. Josh McLaurin, who had promised to donate $1,000 to Mainor’s primary opponent, said that the switch was an “inevitable result of her narcissism” and that many people saw it coming. “Good riddance,” he concluded.

Mainor has not said whether or not she plans to run for re-election, but a Republican candidate will face daunting odds in an Atlanta district like the one she represents. The district is so heavily Democratic that Republicans have not recruited any candidates here for several years now. Democrats are likely to easily win Mainor’s seat back in the 2024 election.

It’s also worth remembering that Mainor is not the first Georgia Democrat to abandon her party in such a dramatic fashion. In 2020, then-Democratic State Rep. Vernon Jones crossed party lines to endorse Donald Trump. As a result, he was banished from his party and eventually switched to the GOP.