Rep. Shawn Thierry from Houston announced on social media that she was leaving the Democrat Party and join the GOP in the last four months of her term.
The statement came months after she lost her Democratic primary election in May, reportedly due to her decision to support a bill banning gender transition procedures for children and teens. Lauren Ashley Simmons, her opponent, is known to be a vocal LGBTQ+ activist and union organizer.
In her post, Thierry stated her disappointment in the current Democratic Party.
“For my entire adult life, I have voted as a Democrat. I was raised in a household with my amazing parents who believed the Democratic Party was the party of the people—a beacon of justice and opportunity for all. But as the years have passed, I have watched with dismay as the party I once knew has drifted far from its roots. It has become almost unrecognizable—radicalized and increasingly out of touch with the values that millions of everyday Americans hold dear.”
Aside from gender transition procedures for minors, she was also opposed to Democrats’ support for “dismantling Title IX protections for women in sports” and voted to support banning inappropriate books in school libraries.
“Mothers around our country from all backgrounds, races, and communities understand that it’s our sacred duty to preserve the innocence of our children, protect them from being sexualized, and sterilized,” Thierry wrote. “To respect universal truths, and to uphold the rights of biological women as defined by science, nature, and common sense.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott commended Thierry on switching parties in a post on social media.
Meanwhile, the Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said Thierry had “compromised her Democratic values, betraying the constituents of House District 146.”
“We’re elated that Shawn Thierry has found her true community — the hateful arms of the Republican Party of Texas,” said Hinojosa.
Currently in her fourth term, Thierry has served in the Texas House as a Democrat for eight years. She is the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committe and is on the House Energy Resources Committee.
She stated she had contributed to legislative wins in maternal mortality, elderly protections, and human trafficking as a Democratic lawmaker.
