(TEXAS SCORECARD) – After losing in the Democrat primary earlier this year, outgoing State Rep. Shawn Thierry has announced her decision to join the Republican Party, citing that the current Democrat Party has “veered so far left, so deep into the progressive abyss” that it now promotes policies she can no longer support.
Thierry, who was first elected in 2016, faced backlash from her Democrat colleagues last year after she voted in favor of legislation banning child gender mutilation and removing pornographic material from school libraries. These votes led to her defeat by Lauren Ashley Simmons in the Democrat primary earlier this year, a candidate backed by several incumbent Democrat lawmakers.
Pointing to the Democrat Party’s support for gender mutilation for children and the dismantling of Title IX protections for women in sports, Thierry stated that she is “leaving the left and joining the party of family, faith, and freedom.”
“I have witnessed firsthand how the left stifles thoughtful debate, silences dissent, and demands blind allegiance to an ideology that is anti-family and anti-children. If you question or disagree, they will cancel you. This is why so many former Democrats plan to vote Republican in November,” Thierry said.
Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed Thierry to the Republican Party, stating, “I look forward to continuing to work with Representative Thierry to build a bigger, better Texas for generations to come.”
While Thierry will not return to the legislature next session, she joins a growing list of Texas Democrats who have switched parties. State Rep. Ryan Guillen made headlines when he joined Republicans in 2021, and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a former Democrat state legislator, also announced his party switch last year.
