Democratic state Rep. Shawn Thierry of Houston will join the Republican Party for her final four months in office, she announced Friday.
Thierry defied Democrats by supporting a ban on gender-affirming care for minors last year, drawing the ire of LGBTQ groups who banded together to overturn her. She lost her runoff in the Democratic primary in May to Lauren Ashley Simmons, and her term in the Texas legislature ends in January.
In a lengthy statement, Thierry described himself as a lifelong democrat and said the party had moved too far to the left by supporting policies it could not support, such as gender-equitable care for minors and a lack of protection for women's sports.
“I have watched with dismay as the party I once knew has strayed far from its roots,” said Thierry. “It is almost unrecognizable.”
She said she has witnessed firsthand how liberal Democrats suppress debate and silence dissent.
“I hereby officially announce that I am leaving the ranks and the rancor of the Democratic Party elite,” Thierry said. “I now stand with Lincoln, the party that fought to preserve our Union and to end the atrocities of slavery.”
Gilbert Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said Thierry was part of the “sore losers” group of Democrats who left the party after losing a primary. They include Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who endorsed Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz after losing her Democratic primary this year.
“When you switch sides, two things happen,” Hinojosa said. “The people you were with don't like you anymore. The people you went to don't trust you anymore.”
It's rare for party switchers to rise in the Texas Republican Party, Hinojosa said. “They want them as a publicity stunt,” he said, “but they reject them in their primaries.”
Thierry has had significant policy disagreements with the GOP, including on abortion. She received a 0% “pro-life score” from Texas Right to Life for her votes on abortion-related bills after the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions. Her score increased to 5% in 2021 and 44% in 2023.
Republicans in Texas welcomed her party switch on Friday.
“Representative Thierry served four terms in the Texas legislature until the Democratic Party abandoned her after she gave a 12-minute speech in the House of Representatives in support of a bill I signed to protect Texas children,” Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement. “Her decision to switch parties shows that the Democratic Party's radical left agenda does not align with the majority of Americans.”
Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan of Beaumont said Republicans were “thrilled” that she was standing up for their values.
“These are values you have always fearlessly championed, and your courageous decision to stand up for them in these crucial moments shows how much you care about your community and its future,” Phelan said in a post to X.
Thierry said she was leaving the party because it had let her and others down.
“I know that with this decision, my decision, I will be subjected to relentless attacks, criticism and misunderstanding. But I will complete my journey of faith,” she said. “I trust that God will guide and protect me as I begin this new chapter of my life.”
Odus Evbagharu, treasurer of the state Democratic Party, said Thierry “quotes the Holy Scriptures but ignores passages that call for justice and the defense of the oppressed.”
“Now that she is out of the race, thank God the voters of the 146th District have elected someone who actually stands by their principles – welcome, Lauren Ashley Simmons,” Evbagharu said in a statement.
