This former Democrat has served as a lawmaker from a Texas border community for two decades but now he's changing parties.
Is this another sign voters are going to overwhelmingly reject the Democrats next year?
A Texas Democrat switched his affiliation to the Republican Party over the party's left-leaning embrace of defunding the police policies and "chaos" on the southern border.
State Rep. Ryan Guillen announced in a Monday press conference that he would seek reelection to his south Texas seat as a Republican, saying the Democratic Party's far-left values are no longer in line with his own.
Specifically, Guillen cited his now-former party’s backing of defunding the police and the compounding crisis at the southern border under President Biden.
"Friends, something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, not the values of most Texans," Guillen said.
"The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas," he continued.
The former Democrat had won his seat by nearly 17 points in the 2020 election and has served in the Texas House for almost two decades. Guillen's switch is a win for Republicans as the party pushes to gain traction along the historically blue border.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan joined Guillen at his announcement in Floresville.