PLAYING FOR BOTH TEAMS

Texas State Republicans Poach Anti-Trans Democrat

After voting with Republicans on several gender-related bills, state Rep. Shawn Thierry lost her primary this spring.

Lone Star state Republicans have picked off a Democrat. A Democratic Texas state representative who previously diverged with her party on gender issues has decided to join the GOP. Houston-area lawmaker Shawn Thierry said she is making the swap because the Democratic Party has veered “so deep into the progressive abyss, that it now champions policies that I cannot, in good conscience, support.” A primary challenger defeated Thierry earlier this spring after she voted with Republicans on several bills, including ones banning gender transition care for minors, requiring transgender college athletes to play on teams corresponding to their sex assigned at birth and removing sexually explicit books from school libraries. She joins a handful of other politicians who have made such a switch. Even on the Left Coast, California Republicans recently wooed a Democratic state pol into their fold. Thierry’s term is set to end before the Texas legislature reconvenes in early 2025, but she already has a new gig: director of political strategy for an international anti-trans policy group.