(LifeSiteNews) — Michigan State Rep. Karen Whitsett is stepping down both from political office and the Democrat Party, declaring publicly last month she can no longer reconcile Democratic values and priorities with her Christian faith.
“I will not be seeking re-election for this office, and I will not be running for any office ever again. This is not a political calculation – it’s a spiritual decision,” Whitsett announced, Click on Detroit reports. “I don’t have a heaven or hell to put anyone in. Only God does. But I do have God’s unwavering Word to stand on, and I can no longer compromise it to fit a party platform or to please people.”
Specifically, she cited the party’s favorable stances toward “abortion, the normalization of the gay lifestyle, and the push to redefine gender” as incompatible with Biblical morality.
“I understand these are personal for many families, because your son, daughter, cousin, aunt, or uncle may be one. But personal proximity does not change God’s definition of right and wrong. Love for people does not require agreement with sin, and compassion does not give us permission to rewrite Scripture,” Whitsett said. “We say there is no such thing as Black-on-Black crime, but in my view, abortion is exactly that. We wonder why there are no good men – too many were aborted, and we have emasculated many of the men who are still here. We cannot destroy life and then act shocked when our families and neighborhoods suffer the consequences.”
“For me, it is impossible to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ while remaining a member of the Democratic Party as it exists today. I cannot reconcile that platform with Scripture,” she said.
Whitsett credited her awakening to God for “g[iving] me time to repent, turn, and be fully devoted to Him” rather than “g[iving] up on me”; and to Republican State Rep. Bradley Slagh’s words that “you’re to vote your district, but you’re not to sell your soul.” Whitsett concluded she had “compromised my relationship with Jesus for too long.”
“I’m not going to pretend God’s Word can be twisted by any priest, bishop, pastor, or preacher to make people feel comfortable in sin – whether that’s to keep donations coming, to avoid offending anyone, or to fit the culture,” declared the former Democrat, who had first been elected to her current office in 2022. “Just because prominent leaders don’t speak against these things does not mean God is okay with them. God does not change. My faith is not moving. My allegiance is to Jesus Christ, and I’m choosing God’s business over man’s approval.”
At the national and state levels, the Democrat Party has purged nearly all traces of moderation on social issues over the last few decades. The party uniformly supports legal abortion for all nine months and at taxpayer expense, and congressional Democrats have even consistently voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would mandate basic medical care for abortion-surviving newborns with penalties that existing law lacks.
The party has also wholeheartedly embraced the full range of LGBT ideology, including support for surgically and chemically “transitioning” gender-confused minors, in addition to homosexual “marriage” and adoption. Its stance has been so extreme that, following the 2024 election, polling by the pro-Democrat firm Blueprint found that the statement “Kamala Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class” was the third-biggest reason for why overall voters chose not to vote for the former Democrat Vice President, and the number one reason why swing voters rejected her and voted instead for President Donald Trump.