Democrat West Virginia Senator Switches to Republican Party

A woman walks past the elephant logo of the Republican Party on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 18, 2016. (Dominick Reuter/AFP via Getty Images)

West Virginia Democrat State Sen. Glenn Jeffries is no longer a Democrat after announcing his decision to switch his affiliation to the Republican Party on Dec. 1.

The move gave the Republican Party a 31-3 majority in the West Virginia State Senate.

“I have the greatest respect for the many friends and supporters I have been blessed with during my time in public office,” Jeffries said in a statement, per Metro News. “I hope to continue and strengthen those relationships going forward.”

He continued: “Our politics have gotten so personal and difficult. I want to make sure that I serve constituents and our state in a respectful, thoughtful way that leads to a better life for all West Virginians.”

According to the outlet, the change was first announced by the Putnam County Republican Executive Committee, which welcomed the former Democrat to the party in a statement.

“Senator Jeffries has proven himself to be a very hard worker for Putnam County,” said Tony Hodge, committee chairman and co-chairman of the state party.

Attributing Jeffries’ decision to discontentment with his former party, Hodge added: “Glenn described himself to me as a ‘conservative,’ and we agreed that his policy efforts in the State Senate would be elevated if he joined the majority Republican caucus. Glenn also expressed to me his discomfort with the leftward direction of the Democratic Party and that he no longer identifies with them.”

Further celebrating the move Thursday on Twitter, the Putnam County Republican Party wrote: “Please join us in welcoming the newest Republican Senator in West Virginia, former Democrat Glenn Jeffries of Putnam County!! Welcome aboard, Glenn!”

The West Virginia Democratic Party, however, was less celebratory in its response to the news.

“For Senator Jeffries to claim he doesn’t like the direction of the Democratic Party, barely a week after his new party’s de facto leader had dinner with a Holocaust denying white supremacist, is like being called ugly by a frog,” said Mike Pushkin, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, in a Thursday statement.

Nick Fuentes, the “white supremacist” Pushkin referenced, had dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Trump and rapper Kanye “Ye” West last week. Following the dinner, Trump released a statement denying any knowledge of who Fuentes was.

“Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. “Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about.”

According to The Free Press, Fuentes echoed that explanation on Nov. 25 on his podcast, stating, “I don’t think he knew that I was me at the dinner.”

Puskin, however, appeared to equate Fuentes’ actions and opinions with those of the former president in his Thursday statement.

“Former President Trump’s dinner guest, Nick Fuentes, infamously spoke at a far right rally earlier this year where he urged the crowd to cheer for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and expressed his support for Vladimir Putin by enthusiastically comparing him to Adolf Hitler,” Pushkin said.

Jeffries is not the only Democrat to defect from the party in recent times. In October, former presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard made waves when she announced she was no longer a Democrat. Though Gabbard did not go on to register with the Republican Party, other former Democrats have made that change, including New Jersey Sen. Jeff Van Drew in 2019 and former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones last year.

A previous version of this story inaccurately stated the composition of the West Virginia State Senate after Sen. Jeffries switched parties. The Epoch Times regrets the error.