TEXAS (LifeSiteNews) – A Texas Democratic state representative has left his party to become a Republican.
Ryan Guillen announced on November 15 that he would be seeking re-election in 2022 as a Republican.
“‘I’ve worked hard to serve the people of South Texas and to try to make a difference in the short time that we have here on Earth,” Guillen said at the press conference. “Over the years I’ve worked to cut taxes, to create jobs, to protect our oil field jobs, to support our troops, and our law enforcement.”
He has worked “to secure the border, to defend our property rights, our Second Amendment rights, and to defend the lives of the unborn,” Guillen said.
His pro-life record drew praise from Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi, who previously served as a state representative with Guillen.
“Rep. Guillen has been a friend for many years, and I am proud to welcome him to the Republican Party,” Rinaldi said in a statement. “I am confident Republicans in Austin and his constituents in the Rio Grande Valley will welcome him with open arms.”
“Following this month’s Republican victories in Virginia and in Texas HD118, this is yet another example of how the increasing extremism of the Democratic Party has alienated Texans who care about smaller government, strong families, safe communities, and the protection of the unborn,” the GOP chairman said. “Those people have a home in our party.”
Guillen, who is Latino, is another example of how Democrats are losing Latino voters, Republican Governor Greg Abbott said at the press conference. He said that many Hispanic voters are turned off by the Democratic Party’s “far leftist socialist moves.”
“There is a big political change that’s taking place in south Texas. It’s a change ushered in part by the far-leftist socialistic moves that are being made by Democrats in south Texas,” Abbott said. “The Democrats no longer represent either the values of the people or the values of the Hispanic community in south Texas. It is time for a Republican to represent the real values of the people of south Texas.”
The head of the Texas House Democratic caucus said Guillen made the move for opportunistic reasons, because Republican leaders had redrawn the district maps in a way that made the election of a Democrat more difficult.
“Republicans cynically gutted Rep. Guillen’s district in the redistricting process, showing complete disrespect for both him and his constituents,” state Rep. Chris Turner told the Texas Tribune. “Usually, people in Ryan’s position would choose to fight. Instead, he has chosen to join them.”
Project Vote Smart lists a handful of pro-life votes Guillen has taken since 2011. It includes voting yes in support of a law to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is reversed by the Supreme Court, a prohibition on abortion after 20 weeks, and requiring an ultrasound before an abortion.
Guillen voted in favor of a 2021 law that requires public school athletes to compete based on their actual sex, not the sex that gender dysphoric or “transgender” students claim to be.