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Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a longtime Democrat, said he’s switched parties to become a Republican.
“Today I am changing my party affiliation,” Johnson wrote in an op-ed published Friday in The Wall Street Journal. “Next spring, I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican.”
Johnson served in the Texas Legislature for nine years as a Democrat before he was elected mayor in 2019. Though the mayor’s position is technically nonpartisan, Johnson joins Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker as one of two Republican mayors to lead a major Texas city.
Texas Republicans were quick to embrace Johnson as one of their own.
“Texas is getting more Red every day,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a tweet, sharing the announcement. “He’s pro law enforcement & won’t tolerate leftist agendas.”
This is a developing report. Check back for updates.
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