The Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta on November 9, 2022. | Source: SETH HERALD / Getty
A Black woman lawmaker in Georgia who recently left the Democratic Party to become a Republican is being criticized for her defection and accused of abandoning her constituents who elected her into office.
State Rep. Mesha Mainor, whose district is comprised of parts of Atlanta, earlier this week announced that she would be switching political allegiances mainly because of her stance on school vouchers, which compelled Republicans to support her while her then-fellow Democrats did not.
Mainor, 48, made the announcement on Tuesday while, the Associated Press reported.
“I thought it was OK to not agree with those things as a Democrat,” Mainro said. “But they told me, ‘You know what, those are values we just don’t have.’”
Mainor later offered a more detailed explanation for the motivation behind switching political parties in the middle of her term and said the topic of race partly influenced her decision. She suggested Democrats don’t have Black people’s best interests at heart.
“As a lawmaker for the past three years, I realize more each day that the principles of Democrats are not always aligned with those of black people,” Mainor wrote in an open letter before continuing later: “I am asking black Americans to ask themselves, ‘What has a Democrat done for you lately?'”
The move wasn’t greeted warmly by Democrats in Georgia.
U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams, the leader of Georgia Democrats who succeeded the late Rep. John Lewis on Capitol Hill, said Mainor’s change of political affiliation was a “stinging betrayal” to citizens who voted for her.
“House District 56 deserves a representative who will do the job they were elected to do, including fight for high-quality public education,” Williams added in a statement.
The Associated Press summed up what led to Mainor becoming a Republican:
The tension between Mainor and other Democrats burst into the open earlier this year after Mainor became the only Democrat to vote for a school voucher bill that failed after a number of House Republicans broke ranks to oppose it. School choice has always had some support among urban Black Democrats, but Mainor’s fellow party members reacted with scorn even as Republicans rallied to Mainor’s support. State Sen. Josh McLaurin, an Atlanta Democrat, posted a picture of a $1,000 check online for a primary challenger, writing “All I need is a name.”
Mainor is the latest Black Democrat in Georgia to move on to the Republican Party.
Back in 2020, Vernon Jones was a Democratic state representative who shocked his constituents by announcing his endorsement of Donald Trump for president that year.
Similar to the response to Mainor’s announcement this week, Williams — who was still the Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia at the time — called Jones “an embarrassment to the Democratic Party.”
Unlike Mainor, however, Jones had already had a real history of sympathizing with the Grand Old Party, including accusations of hanging up a portrait of Robert E. Lee., voting for George W. Bush, waving a gun at a woman, pushing a county commissioner, rape, taking anger management class and stealing taxpayer funds.
Ever since Jones stopped being a Democrat, he’s fallen right in line with other Black Republicans, including espousing rhetoric that is anti-Black, including supporting the Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, pushing “the big lie” that Trump won the 2020 election, and promoting homophobic and white supremacy views.
Only time will tell if the same will be true for Mainor’s future in the Republican Party.
This is America.
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