Another longtime Democrat is saying "adios" to her party and joining the Republican Party.
Former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero announced this week that she no longer recognizes the Democratic Party and will be voting for former President Donald Trump in November.
"I've had enough," Romero said, who served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for Jesse Jackson and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill).
"I am now another near-lifelong Democrat who is joining the growing number of people...who are leaving the Democratic Party," she said, adding that the left is not the party she once championed. " I cannot continue. I changed my voting registration today as the sun was rising to Republican, which has, under Donald Trump, become the champion of working people, the big tent. And indeed, I will vote for Donald Trump this fall."
Romero took several jabs at the Democratic Party, accusing them of taking a "giant leap" toward authoritarianism and censorship. She pointed to former President Ronald Reagan, who once warned that the United States would eventually fall victim to fascism and it would be concealed under liberalism.
"The Democratic Party has turned its back on the working class, becoming the party of the elites and big buck donors," she continued. "We see Democratic leaders lecture the people as to how to live their lives under the burden of COVID-19, climate change, and rampant inflation. While the out-of-touch Californians feast at the French Laundry, crime has spiraled out of control, grocery prices have soared."
The former Democrat explained the most significant disconnect from her party has been over school choice and educational freedom, calling the GOP a party of peace and the left a party of endless war.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) called it an "honor" to have Romero turn to the Right side, saying it takes "real courage" to step away from the party you've identified for years.
"Gloria urged her now former Party to 'wake up' and start standing up for everyday families again," Jones said. "Her leadership and experience have always been about serving the people, not partisan politics.
Romero also acknowledged that despite being pro-choice, she cannot morally be a part of a party that advocates for abortion to full term. She also has taken a stand against the left's radical gender and LGBTQ ideology.
"It is terrifying to see how language has been modified so that, as a feminist and a former professor. I would be condemned for saying that I can define a woman and distinguish between biological sex and gender identity," she added. "I am a mother and refuse to call myself a 'birthing person.'"