Party Hopping: Can Elected Officials Just Switch Sides?

At a Make America Great Again rally on Thursday night, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that was leaving the Democratic party and joining the Grand Old Party.

Justice’s decision has made many people wonder if a governor, who was elected in November 2016 as a Democrat, can now just get up and switch party affiliation?

The short and long answer to both is "yes," and there is no law preventing an elected official from switching parties at any time. In fact, this is not even the first time that Justice as switched parties.

In February 2015, Justice switched affiliation from Republican to Democratic. On Thursday night, however, he switched back. Standing beside President Trump, Justice announced, "I tell you as West Virginians I can’t help you anymore being a Democrat governor. So tomorrow I will be changing my registration to Republican."

That, by the way, is all it takes: changing your voter registration. On Friday, Justice just had to log onto the West Virginia Secretary of State and check a different party. Then – poof – he’s a Republican.

Officially registering as a "Democrat," “Republican,” “Independent” or “Libertarian” is not a requirement to vote in a general election. Voters in a general election do not need to be registered with any political party.

However, if you want to vote in a state that has a "closed primary," you’re required to register with a specific party. Pennsylvania, for example, has closed primaries—someone registered as “Democrat” would not have been able to choose between Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, etc. during the 2016 primaries.

Because of the fluid nature of political parties, there’s no legal requirement for what it "means" to be a Republican or Democrat. The only repercussions for Justice, if there are any, will be, well, political.

The Democratic Governors Association, for instance, released a scathing statement following Justice’s announcement, accusing him of "deceiving the voters of West Virginia when he ran as a Democrat 8 months ago."

Said another way: politicians can switch their party affiliations at any time—but so can those who voted for them.

Justice is one of many public officials who’ve switched teams. Some notable party hoppers include:

Strom Thurmond

In 1948, Strom Thurmond ran for President as a "Dixiecrat" who opposed racial integration. While he never served as President, he was a South Carolina senator from 1954 to 2003. Initially, he was a Democrat, but in 1964, because of his opposition to the Civil Rights Act, he switched parties to Republican.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton grew up in a politically conservative household, and as a teenager in 1964, she campaigned for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. As a student at Wellesley, she even served as president of the Young Republicans Club. After graduating, however, Hillary moved to the left and stayed there.

Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt decided he wasn’t done serving as President after his second term. Alas, William Taft had secured the Republican nomination. No bother—Teddy decided he’d just form his own party, the progressive "Bull Moose" party. He lost to Woodrow Wilson.

Ronald Reagan

As a young man, the former idol of the Republican party was a Democrat: he supported FDR and tried to persuade Dwight Eisenhower to run for President as a Democrat. But then, as Reagan was fond of saying, "I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me." In 1962, his anti-communist views led him to switch parties, and he was sworn in as the Republican Governor of California in 1967 before becoming President in 1981.

How do you feel about elected politicians switching parties? Should officials have to carry out their terms in the party they were voted in as? Hit the Take Action button and let your reps know if expect them to stay in their checked box.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: DonkeyHotey via Flickr / Creative Commons)