The Republican Party continues to add Democratic legislators to its ranks. West Virginia legislator, Elliot Pritt registered with the GOP on Monday. The congressman thus became the fourth Democrat to leave his party and decide to become a Republican in recent weeks.
A decision that was applauded by West Virginia Republican Party Chairwoman Elgine McArdle. In a press release celebrating Pritt's arrival, she said that this decision is further proof of the distrust people have for the Democratic Party:
I want to welcome Delegate Elliott Pritt to the Republican Party. Like so many West Virginians, Delegate Pritt has recognized that the Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party that our parents grew up with.
“WVGOP Chairwoman Statement on Delegate Elliott Pritt Joining the Republican Party” pic.twitter.com/PuFzS6DeBF
— WVGOP (@WVGOP) April 17, 2023
Pritt, a teacher, managed to defeat the Republican representative in the 2022 election and snatched a vote away from the Republican supermajority in the state House of Delegates. Now, the Fayette lawmaker's party switch tallies 89 members in the House while Democrats retain 11 state representatives.
Elliot Pritt's departure is no surprise to the Democrats
The change of heart comes as no surprise to Democrats. In a press release, the West Virginia Democratic Party noted that Pritt had already switched from the Socialist Party USA to their party and that, therefore, they were not surprised that the legislator decided to switch sides again and, this time, register with the Republicans.
Moreover, West Virginia Democratic Party leader Mike Pushkin claimed that the only thing he was clear about Elliott Pritt is that "there's nothing he won't do in the name of political expediency."
The only thing you can be sure of with Elliott Pritt is that there's nothing he won't do in the name of political expediency. There is no line he won't cross, no ideal he won't reverse and no principle he won't violate if he thinks it will help him at the ballot box. In the end, the only thing you can count on with Elliott Pritt is that you can't count on him.
Human Weathervane Elliott Pritt Switches Parties (Yet Again)
For Immediate Release April 17, 2023
(Charleston, WV) Elliott Pritt started his political career as a self-avowed member of the Socialist Party USA. pic.twitter.com/dw1uC1ugRJ
— WV Democratic Party (@wvdemocrats) April 17, 2023
