Former Republican Congressman Says He's Becoming A Democrat

Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh said he's becoming a Democrat in a Substack post shared on Tuesday (June 3).

Walsh, who has been a political independent since leaving the GOP in 2020, said he made the decision as he views the Republican Party as a threat to democracy and the rule of law.

“Three words I never thought I’d ever utter: I’m a Democrat. This former Republican Congressman, former Republican candidate for President, this former TEA Party champion is formally joining the Democratic Party. The stakes are simply too high to NOT become a Democrat,” Walsh wrote.

"Let’s start with the obvious—a tyrant sits in the White House," Walsh added, referring to President Donald Trump. "The very thing our Founders feared most is here. Throw in the fact that one of our two major political parties is a real and direct threat to democracy and the rule of law. These are unprecedented, dangerous times in America. I know it. You know it. There are even Republicans who know it.

"Anyone who cares about the Constitution cannot sit by and watch as fundamental American values—the rule of law, democracy, pluralism—are attacked. Daily. To defeat my former party and defend democracy, we must do something different. We must assemble a broad coalition of moderates, progressives, and, yes, even conservatives."

Walsh had previously challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020 but ended his campaign after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses, at which point he left the party, became a critic of Trump and endorsed former President Joe Biden ahead of his 2020 election victory.

“Without freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, America ceases to be. And currently, only the Democratic Party is on the side of all three of these core American values,” Walsh wrote.

“There isn’t a third party coming to the rescue any time soon,” he added. “Right now, the Democratic Party is democracy’s lone defender and best hope."