The first Democratic leader to publicly announce a switch in parties since Biden took office is North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee. Lee announced his decision on ‘Fox and Friends’ Tuesday morning. “I found a place where I can put my allegiance to and help once again, forget about the last eight years, it’s about the next four years that predict the future,” Lee said on the national morning television show.
Lee was first elected mayor of North Las Vegas in 2013 and was reelected in 2017; his current term ends in 2022. Lee’s campaign asserts he’s the most prominent Democratic elected official that has chosen to switch parties since Biden’s inauguration.
In a statement, Lee said, “Though I’ve been a registered Democrat on paper my entire life, I made the switch in my heart a long time ago because, on some things, there’s simply no compromise.” Lee added, “that’s why I voted for President Trump twice.” In his interview with Fox, Lee commended his A+ rating from the National Rifle Association and his conservative values such as pro-life and pro-second amendment.
Lee also lamented about the socialist movement within the Democratic party. “In the Democratic Party of Nevada, they had an election recently for leadership, and four of the five people were card-carrying members of the socialist (sic) party,” said Lee. “It’s not the party that I grew up with 25 years ago in this environment, and it’s not the party that I can stand with anymore.”
