Party switching in the United States

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In the United States politics, party switching is any change in party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one who is currently holding elected office. In the United States' dominant two-party system, the switches most commonly occur between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, although there have also been a number of notable switches to and from third parties, and even between third parties. Use of the term "party switch" often connotes a transfer of held power from one party to another.

Motivations

There are a number of reasons why an elected official, or someone seeking office, might choose to switch parties. One reason is ethical obligation -- the person feels their views are no longer aligned with those of their current party.

A second reason is to gain power and influence. The incumbent may be a member of the minority party in a legislature and would like to gain the advantages of being in the majority party, such as the potential to chair a committee.

Another reason is simply "to get elected." This may be the primary reason when the opposing party's base in a constituency is reaching a size that threatens the safe reelection of the incumbent.

History

The 19th century

The shifting of allegiance between political parties was much more common during the 19th century than it is today. It took several years for political parties as we know them today to coalesce after the founding of the United States, and many parties formed and fell apart rapidly.

A massive party switch occurred in the 1800s and 1810s when many members of the United States Federalist Party joined the United States Democratic-Republican Party. When this party fell apart in the 1820s, its members all switched to various political parties, including the United States Whig Party, as well as the Democratic, National Republican, Anti-Jackson and Anti-Mason Parties. The Republican Party was also formed by a massive party switch in 1854 when northern members of the Whig, American and Free Soil parties, along with a few northern Democrats, formed the Republican Party, and many Southern Whigs became Democrats. Following the United States Civil War the Republican Party faced several massive party switches. As Reconstruction ended, many Southern Republicans became Democrats. In 1872 Republicans dissatisfied with President Ulysses S. Grant formed the Liberal Republican Party and had a joint presidential campaign with the Democrats. Most Liberal Republicans soon returned to the main Republican Party, however. A similar situation occurred in 1884 when the mugwumps left the Republican Party and supported the Democratic presidential candidate, later rejoining the Republican party. The next major conflict in the Republican Party occurred in 1896 when Republican supporters of Free silver left the party to form the Silver Republicans, though again most of these politicians later rejoined the Republican Party. By the late 19th century, as the Democratic and Republican parties became more established, however, party switching became less frequent.

The 20th century

The shifts in American voter demographics beginning in the second half of the twentieth century - the southern states from Democratic to Republican, and New England and the west coastal states from Republican to Democratic - have prompted several incumbent federal legislators and many state legislators to switch parties.

Notable party switchers

Notable party switchers of the modern era include:

Democrat to Republican

1800s

1900-1949

  • 1911 - Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo (NM) Switched to Republican after the State Convention denied his request that half of all statewide nominees be Hispanic (request no granted as Rep. either)
  • 1921 - Theodore A. Bell, (Calif) following successful political career switched parties a year before his death
  • 1933 - Raymond Moley, due to anger over the New Deal
  • 1939 - Wendell Willkie, before running for President in 1940
  • 1949 - Joseph A. McArdle, (PA) switched parties following successful political career as State & US Rep. and Pittsburgh city council member
  • 1949 - Rush D. Holt Sr., (WV) after unsuccessful candidate for the 1948 Democratic nomination for United States Senator [17]

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Democrat to third party/independent or third party to Democrat

Republican to Democrat

2009 - Arlen Specter, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, switched April 27, 2009, after five terms in the GOP.

Republican to third party/independent

  • 1872 - Republicans in frustration with the Grant administration formed the Liberal Republican Party and joined the Democratic Party. Most returned to the Republican Party after the 1872 election.
  • 1870s - James Weaver, left the Republican Party over disenchantment with Ulysses S. Grant, elected to Congress on the Greenback Party ticket and was the party's presidential nominee in 1880. Later switched to the Populist Party and ran for President on that party's ticket in 1892.
  • 1890s - Republicans who had agreed with the Free Silver movement of the 1890s formed the Silver Republican Party. After the party faded, members either switched to the Democratic Party or returned to the Republican Party. Some Silver Republicans who became Democrats included Idaho Senator Fred Dubois and Colorado senator Henry Moore Teller.
  • 1896 - Wharton Barker switched to the Populist Party.
  • 1912 - Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States, left the Republican Party after a failed attempt to be nominated for President again. He ran as the candidate of the newly formed Progressive Party, better known as the Bull Moose Party, and received second place, doing better than the Republican candidate but being defeated by the Democratic candidate.
  • 1935 - Robert M. La Follette, Jr., while U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, switched from the Republican Party to the Progressive Party.
  • 1936 - George William Norris, progressive Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska left the Republican Party to become an independent and was reelected to the Senate once more, but was defeated in 1942 by a Republican in a race which also involved a Democrat.
  • 1937 or 1938 - Vito Marcantonio, a liberal Republican congressman from New York left the party after being defeated for reelection, and joined the American Labor Party. He was then reelected to Congress.
  • 1952 - Wayne Morse, while U.S. senator from Oregon. He then switched from independent to Democrat in 1956.
  • 1972 - Roger MacBride, went from Republican to Libertarian and back to Republican
  • 1980 - John Anderson, Republican congressman from Illinois, left the Republican presidential primary race for an independent centrist campaign in the 1980 presidential election.
  • 1988 - Ron Paul, a former Republican congressman, ran for President as a Libertarian. He later returned to Congress as a Republican.
  • 1990's? - Arianna Huffington, wife of one-term U.S. Rep. Michael Huffington (R-California). She is now a frequent commentator with a large base of progressive and liberal fans. She even mounted an Independent bid for Governor of California in the 2003 recall election.
  • 1990 - Walter Hickel, former Nixon Interior Secretary left Republican Party before his successful bid for Governor of Alaska, as nominee of the Alaskan Independence Party [42]. He rejoined the Republican party in 1994.
  • 1990 - Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., before running for governor of Connecticut
  • 1991 - Calvin "Cal" Warburton, (July 16) sitting state representative in New Hampshire (7th term) to Libertarian Party was elected in 1992 as a Libertarian [43].
  • 1999 - Pat Buchanan, a conservative commentator who attempted to secure the 1996 Republican presidential nomination, left the Republican Party and gathered his supporters to take over the Reform Party, which made him their 2000 presidential nominee.[44]
  • 1999 - Donald Trump, real-estate billionaire left Republican Party and registered as a member of the Independence Party of New York the Reform Party's New York affiliate, in exploratory bid for the parties presidential nomination.[45]
  • 1999 - Robert C. Smith United States Senator from New Hampshire, a well-known conservative, left the Republican Party while running for the Presidential nomination in 1999 and declared himself a candidate for the U.S. Taxpayer's Party presidential nomination, then an independent candidate. He finally returned to the GOP when a Senate committee chairmanship became open.
  • 2000 - Rick Jore, three terms Republican Montana State Representative, to U.S. Constitution Party, became party's highest elected official when elected to the Montana House in 2006 and appointed chairman of the House Education Committee
  • 2001 - James M. Jeffords, while U.S. senator from Vermont. This move changed the balance of power in the Senate from 50-50, with Republican Vice President Richard B. Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote and thus providing a "51" majority, to 50-49-1, giving the Democrats majority control of the Senate until the GOP regained control in 2003, following the 2002 midterm elections. Jeffords was given a committee chairmanship by the Democratic leadership and caucused with the Democrats until he chose not to run for re-election and left the Senate.
  • 2002 - Former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson announces he no longer considers himself a Republican due to the Republican Party of Minnesota's shift to the right on social issues. Carlson has not held elected office since 1999.
  • 2006 - Carole Keeton Strayhorn, while Comptroller of Texas. Disenchanted with Gov. Rick Perry's leadership of the state. Strayhorn decided to run against him in the 2006 state elections as an independent.
  • 2006 - Ben Westlund, before his aborted candidacy for Governor of Oregon. In December 2006, Westlund took the switch a step further by becoming a Democrat [46].
  • 2006 - Bob Barr, former congressman from Georgia, joined the Libertarian Party [47].
  • 2007 - Micheal R. Williams, while a Tennessee State Senator, became an independent[48].
  • 2007 - Michael Bloomberg, While Mayor of New York City, became an independent[49].
  • 2007 - Lincoln Chafee, former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, switched to unaffiliated [50].
  • 2007 - Michael Amo, Orange County New York legislator, switched to Independence Party of New York [51].
  • 2007 - Richard W. Singleton, Member of Rhode Island House of Representatives [52]
  • 2008 - Jeff Wood, Wisconsin State Assemblyman [53]
  • 2008 - Ron Erhardt, nine term Minnesota State Rep., running for 10th term as independent [54].
  • 2008 - Richard Weldon, two term delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates switched to independent In September [55] [56]
  • 2009 - Ed Coleman, Indianapolis City-County Councilman, switched to the Libertarian Party by becoming a dues-paying member [57] [58]

Other

There have been several instances of politicians continuing to be a member of a political party while running other campaigns as an independent. The most prominent examples include southern Democratic segregationists Strom Thurmond in 1948 and George Wallace in 1968, who remained in the Democratic Party for statewide campaigns but mounted national presidential campaigns as independents. Wallace later ran in the 1972 Democratic primaries. Earlier, liberal Republican Robert La Follette, Sr. ran for President as the candidate of the Progressive Party in 1924, while still remaining a Republican in the Senate.

Other political figures, such as Zell Miller and Ed Koch, did not formally leave their parties, but supported a candidate from another party. Miller and Koch, though well-known Democrats, supported Republican George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. This received much media attention in 2004, when Democrats for Bush and Republicans for Kerry groups were formed. In New Hampshire, former Republican governor Walter Peterson has expressed supported Democrat John Lynch in his bids for governor. Similarly, in 1860, former Democratic President Martin Van Buren ended up supporting Abraham Lincoln due to his disagreements with Democratic policies on secession. Other examples would include former Republican Senator from Minnesota David Durenberger supporting John Kerry in 2004 and former Democratic Attorney General Griffin Bell supporting George W. Bush in 2004.

See also

References

  1. ^ Howard E. Covington, Jr. and Marion A. Ellis, Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1999, 489
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ [4][5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ [7]
  8. ^ [8]
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  10. ^ [10]
  11. ^ [11]
  12. ^ [12]
  13. ^ [13]
  14. ^ [14]
  15. ^ [15]
  16. ^ [16]

External links

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