New Mexico state Sen. Jacob Candelaria changed his party affiliation from Democrat to “decline to state” on Monday following a controversy regarding the state’s new Senate map redistricting.
The Santa Fe Mexican reported the change regarding what it called his “surprise announcement.”
“I don’t think anyone can look at the events of Jan. 6 or many of the unconstitutional acts of this governor and not conclude that this partisan virus is starting to affect who we are as a country,” Candelaria said, according to the report.
“I don’t think that the decisions we make should be based on partisan ambitions, and it broke my heart to see already that the Senate maps deliberately dilute and gerrymander the west side of Albuquerque to preserve perceived partisan advantage for some members of the Democratic Party,” he added. “You would strip representation from people that I represent, many of whom are Hispanic, simply because it benefits you at the ballot box.”
In a statement to NM Political Report on the issue, Candelaria added, “Partisanship is a virus that’s ripping our country apart,” Candelaria said. “I’ll no longer be a part of it.”
NEW MEXICO. St Sen Jacob Candelaria (D) – a very vocal critic of Gov Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) – has quit the Democratic Party and become an Independent. https://t.co/ZrZUS8Gv3A
— Politics1.com (@Politics1com) December 7, 2021
The report also noted the senator does not plan to seek re-election.
Candelaria is not the only Democrat to switch parties in 2021.
In November, Texas Representative Ryan Guillen announced he was leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican.
In October, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang left the party to officially become independent.
In April, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee announced he had left the Democratic Party after a “socialist” takeover of the party in the state of Nevada and joined the Republican Party.
The Daily Wire previously reported on Lee’s party switch, stating:
Lee made the announcement on his campaign website and then joined Fox News’s “FOX & Friends” to discuss it, saying that the Democratic Party is run by “card-carrying socialists” in the state.
The Nevada Democratic Party “had an election recently for leadership, and four of the five people were card carrying members of the Socialist Party,” Lee said. “It’s not the party that I grew up with 25 years ago in this environment, and it’s not the party I can stand with anymore.”
Lee said that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class and is an elitist party that does not support individual liberty.
On his campaign website, Lee said that he made the switch in his heart “a long time ago” and warned that Democrats “demands a senseless devotion to cancel culture, socialism, and anti-American values.”
Lee warned that Democrats have embraced an “extremist agenda” that is “radically” different from what the party used to be. “Their ideas hurt working class families, restrict freedom, and extinguish opportunity for millions of Americans – particularly working class minorities who deserve the chance to give their families a better life,” Lee wrote. “The Republican Party that’s emerged from President Trump’s leadership is a working class party of opportunity, freedom, and hope.”