On Friday, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced he is leaving the failed Democrat party and will switch his affiliation to Republican.
In an Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal Friday morning, he explained his decision.
Johnson discussed the successful work his administration has done to reduce violent crime in his city and shared his pride in reducing property tax rates to increase interest from investors.
Johnson received 98.7% of the vote in his re-election campaign this year and, though he affirms he has no intention of changing his approach, he will change his party affiliation saying, “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.”
Further, Johnson explains, “The future of America’s great urban centers depends on the willingness of the nation’s mayors to champion law and order and practice fiscal conservatism. Our cities desperately need the genuine commitment to these principles (as opposed to the inconsistent, poll-driven commitment of many Democrats) that has long been a defining characteristic of the GOP.”
With that in mind, Johnson continued:
In other words, American cities need Republicans—and Republicans need American cities. When my political hero Theodore Roosevelt was born, only 20% of Americans lived in urban areas. By the time he was elected president, that share had doubled to 40%. Today, it stands at 80%. As America’s cities go, so goes America.
Unfortunately, many of our cities are in disarray. Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint. Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cities as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enterprise.
Too often, local tax dollars are spent on policies that exacerbate homelessness, coddle criminals and make it harder for ordinary people to make a living. And too many local Democrats insist on virtue signaling—proposing half-baked government programs that aim to solve every single societal ill—and on finding new ways to thumb their noses at Republicans at the state or federal level. Enough. This makes for good headlines, but not for safer, stronger, more vibrant cities.
The most Texas story you’ll read today
Days after AG Ken Paxton was acquitted, the recently re-elected Democrat Mayor of Dallas Eric Johnson announced he is switching to the Republican Party
“America’s cities need Republicans and I’m becoming one”
Welcome brother! pic.twitter.com/2xLaUlrkrH
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) September 22, 2023
Dallas’ Democrat Mayor Eric Johnson has announced he’s becoming a Republican:
“America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One: While Dallas has thrived, elsewhere Democratic policies have exacerbated crime and homelessness.” pic.twitter.com/02uBrCoZNW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 22, 2023
