Francis Thompson switches to GOP, which gains supermajority in Louisiana
The longest-serving Democrat in the Baton Rouge state legislature said his beliefs and values motivated him to sign up with conservatives.
The congressman from Louisiana, Francis Thompson, switched to the Republican Party on Friday. The longest serving Democrat in the Baton Rouge state legislature decided to move to the GOP thus giving a supermajority to conservatives by tallying 70 votes to the 32 votes garnered by progressives.
This is the first time in the state's history that the Republican Party has won a supermajority. It does so after Congressman Francis Thompson decided to register as a Republican rather than a Democrat after nearly half a century of supporting progressives since he began his political career as a state representative in 1975.
Francis Thompson, more identified with the GOP than with the Democrats.
The change, Thompson himself said in a statement issued by the Louisiana Republican Party, is because he feels more comfortable belonging to a political party with more traditional ideals:
This is not the first time Thompson has allied himself with the Republican Party. Throughout the congressman's years as a registered Democrat, Thompson repeatedly supported the GOP in pushing through legislation that aligned more closely with his ideology.
In this way, for example, in December 2022, recalls Just the News, Thompson supported Republican-led legislation exempting religious institutions from state public health mandates. A bill later vetoed by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.
"A historic day for the Republican Party"
Louisiana Republicans are thrilled with the addition of Francis Thompson to the conservative party. State Republican Party Chairman Louis Gurvich welcomed the congressman, stressing the historic nature of the change not only for the GOP but for all of Baton Rouge:
House Majority Leader Blake Miguez was also keen to stress the importance of Thompson's change and claimed that this was further evidence that many citizens of the Pelican State no longer align themselves with Democratic ideology: