A former California Democratic legislative leader announced Wednesday that she no longer “recognizes her party,” while saying she still considers many of its historical figures, including the former president, as supporters. John F. KennedyHer “heroes”
Gloria Romero, who served as state Senate majority leader for three of her more than 10-year tenure in Sacramento, criticized the current state of her former party.
Romero, who said she was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention for both Jesse Jackson and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said many Latinos and Latinas are leaving the party for similar reasons.
“Today, I say ‘goodbye — goodbye — enough is enough,” the former San Gabriel Valley lawmaker said in her announcement.
“I am now another nearly lifelong Democrat joining the growing number of people leaving the Democratic Party.
“Today, I am joining the Republican Party to Make America Great Again, and I'm ready to make my contribution as America prepares to vote,” Romero said, adding that she received a warm welcome from her former political rival.
Claiming she could not sit idly by as Democrats “were taking a giant leap toward totalitarianism (and) censorship,” she said former President Reagan had warned that if fascism rose in the U.S. it would come under the guise of liberalism.
“It is appalling to see how the language has been modified, so that as a feminist and former professor … I would be denounced for saying that I can define a woman and make a distinction between biological sex and gender identity,” Romero said.
“While I am in favor of abortion, I will not support a party that advocates full-term abortion. I am a mother and refuse to call myself a 'birth-giving woman.'”
“The Republican Party has become the party of peace while the Democrats have moved toward endless war.”
He also took aim at the green movement within the Democratic Party and opposed regulation on the devices.
“(A) Latina, I won't leave my gas stove; you can't bake tortillas on an electric range,” she quipped.
Standing on the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento, Romero said he was officially done with the former Republican Party. President Trumpwhom he said are the true champions of working people and the Reaganist “big tent.”
“I will be voting for Donald Trump this year,” she said.
When asked about Romero's move, Los Angeles Democratic officials dismissed his official announcement as “old news.”
“What we knew about Gloria was what California Republicans know best: Fraud is real,” former county party chairman Mark Gonzalez told the Los Angeles Daily News.
Another former party staffer said on X (formerly Twitter) that the GOP is “revealing old news to stay relevant.”
State Senator Brian W. JonesThe top Republican in the state House, Rep. Mike Dempsey, R-San Diego, welcomed Romero to the party, saying in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that Romero had tried unsuccessfully to “wake up” his former party to its leftward shift.
“His leadership and experience have always been about serving the people, not partisan politics,” Jones said. “It takes real courage to stand up for what's right, regardless of the party you've been led by.”
“The pendulum is swinging in California – skyrocketing prices, rising crime and record homelessness are a direct result of a broken government…”
Current state Sen. Mary Alvarado-Gill of Jackson also joined the Republican Party in early August.
At the time, Alvarado-Gil said that his former party was “not even recognizable” and “lacked the will to fix the problems plaguing the state.”
