Black Georgia State Rep. Mesha Mainor Defects to Republicans

Atlanta voters will now have a Republican representing them in the state legislature. Now you might be wondering how a Republican managed to squeak through in one of the bluer districts in the country. And the answer is she was elected… as a Democrat.

On Tuesday, State Representative Mesha Mainor announced that she was leaving the Democratic party and joining the Republican party. The move makes Mainor the first Black woman to serve as a Republican in the Georgia General Assembly. Mainor’s district, which stretches from Westview to Midtown Atlanta, is deep-blue. And her former party was quick to call Mainor out for playing a bait and switch with her constituents.

“Rep. Mesha Mainor’s switch to the GOP is a stinging betrayal of her constituents, who elected a Democrat to represent them in the state legislature,” wrote the Georgia Democratic Party in a statement. “House District 56 deserves a representative who will do the job they were elected to do.”

However, Republicans like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene applauded the move, welcoming her to the party. On Twitter, Mainor explained her decision by calling it a “Moral” decision, adding, “I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own.”

It’s an interesting move for Mainor, who told Axios in April that she would never switch parties, despite her disagreements over school vouchers and other Democratic policy platforms. In fact, she told the outlet that she was a lifelong Democrat because they fought for “those that have been forgotten.”

Mainor has clearly switched up her opinion on the two parties quickly. On Wednesday, she tweeted, “Democrats cannot say they care about people in marginalized communities when they want to keep them oppressed and suppressed.”

The newly minted Republican isn’t up for re-election until 2024, which means her mostly Democratic constituents are stuck with her until then. Mainor previously vowed to run again this cycle. But this time around, voters will likely have a whole new set of questions.