This week, a Georgia lawmaker representing part of Atlanta switched her party affiliation to Republican after repeatedly breaking with her former party, CNN reports.
State representative Mesha Mainor made the declaration this week at a news conference, and her switch makes her the only Black member of the GOP among Georgia’s 236 state lawmakers. She is also the first Black Republican woman to ever serve in the Georgia General Assembly.
After the news conference, Mainor tweeted, “I represent a blue district in the city of Atlanta, so this wasn’t a political decision for me. It was a MORAL one. I will NEVER apologize for being a Black woman with a mind of my own.”
While Republicans, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, welcomed her to the GOP with tweets and reposts of her interviews on Fox News, Democrats called Mainor’s flip from one political party to another a betrayal and highlighted that it was a heavily Democratic district she was elected to represent.
Mainor had recently faced criticism by Democratic Party members for voting with Republicans on several issues, including police budgets and an oversight commission.
“Rep. Mesha Mainor’s switch to the GOP is a stinging betrayal of her constituents, who elected a Democrat to represent them in the state legislature,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who chairs the state’s Democratic Party, in a statement. “House District 56 deserves a representative who will do the job they were elected to do, including the fight for high-quality public education. Georgia Democrats look forward to electing a strong Democrat next year in H.D. 56 who will serve the people, not personal political ambitions.”
Mainor’s switch gives Republicans a 102-78 edge in the Georgia House.