Texas Democrats are slamming Dallas, Texas, Mayor Eric Johnson after he announced on Friday that he will officially leave the party and become a Republican.
“I think this today’s announcement is nothing short of an insult to the electorate, specifically here in Dallas County and the city of Dallas,” Kardal Coleman, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, told Fox News Digital on Friday.
“Voters elected Mayor Johnson and were told that they were going to get a certain set of values, which he failed to deliver on. So now he’s switching up his political party. This is not just strictly about partisanship. I think this is a self-centered agenda on his behalf, and he’s choosing politics over people.”
Coleman told Fox News Digital that Johnson has not had a relationship with the Democratic Party in Dallas since taking office and that his status as a Republican was the “worst kept secret” in the city.
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“He just bailed on the voters who he promised that he would uphold their democratic values,” Coleman said. “It’s no secret that the Republican National Committee has been courting black men, and I believe Mayor Johnson has taken the bait, you know, the smoke and mirrors about what the Republican Party has to offer.”
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed with the headline “America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson explained that he is leaving the Democratic Party because “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.”
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Gilberto Hinojosa and Shay Wyrick Cathey, chair and vice-chair of the Texas Democratic Party, issued a joint statement on Friday blasting Johnson for being dishonest with voters.
“Given his long-standing affinity with Republican leaders and ideology — like when he cozied up with longtime podcast host Ted Cruz at his inauguration this year — this announcement is neither surprising nor unwelcome,” the statement said.
“But the voters of Dallas deserved to know where he stood before he ran for reelection as Mayor. He wasn’t honest with his constituents, and knew he would lose to a Democrat if he flipped before the election. In a city that deserves dedicated leadership, Mayor Johnson has been an ineffective and truant mayor, not only disconnected from Democratic values, but unable to even be an effective messenger for conservative local policy. This feeble excuse for democratic representation will fit right in with Republicans — and we are grateful that he can no longer tarnish the brand and values of the Texas Democratic Party.”
Johnson was elected mayor in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023 earning 93% of the vote in a race where he was virtually unopposed. Johnson’s current term will end in 2027.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.