Texas Rep. Sean Thierry, a Democrat from Houston who lost in the May primary, announced Friday he is switching to the Republican Party.
Thierry, a four-term Texas House representative, faced a tough primary earlier this year against Lauren Ashley Simmons, a queer black woman who campaigned on progressive values. Simmons won the runoff election, garnering 65% of the vote to Thierry’s 35%, and is now the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 146, a heavily Democratic area of Houston.
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Voters viewed the primary as a referendum on Thierry’s controversial decision to break with Democrats on key LGBTQ+ issues. In the last congressional session, Thierry voted for a Republican-backed bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a move that drew widespread criticism from her Democratic colleagues and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. She also supported bills that would have targeted LGBTQ+ books in school libraries and required transgender college athletes to compete based on the sex they were assigned at birth.
In a statement explaining her reason for switching parties, Thierry said she believes the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left and no longer represents her values. “The Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, has strayed too far into the abyss of progressivism and is now promoting policies that I cannot support in good conscience,” she said.
Thierry added that he felt “betrayed by a party that has lost its way and its responsibility to hard-working families.”
She wrote: “Mothers of every background, race and community across the country understand that it is our sacred duty to preserve our children’s innocence and protect them from sexual objectification and sterilization — to respect universal truths and defend the rights of biological women as defined by science, nature and common sense. ” Republicans have falsely claimed Democrats are “indoctrinating” children to be transgender and are spreading anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, alleging that Democrats are “sexualizing” children.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa denounced Thierry’s decision, accusing him of “undermining the values of the Democratic Party” and “betraying the voters of the 146th Congressional District.” He added, “Given his long record of disparaging Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ communities in his campaign, in his staff office and on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives, I expect Switch Up Shawn to find solace within a party that demonizes these communities.”
Texas Democratic Party Treasurer Odas E. Ebergal also criticized Thierry’s actions, quoting Maya Angelou’s words, “When someone reveals themselves, believe them at first.” In a statement, Ebergal said, “If this failed state legislator truly understood that ‘know better, do better,’ he would have understood that knowing better means standing against those who would strip us of our right to vote, deny our children an education, and refuse to grant our communities true equality — not joining them.”
According to the Texas Tribune, Thierry’s decision to join the Republican Party comes after he was appointed earlier this month as the director of political strategy for the U.S. chapter of Genspect, an international organization that opposes gender-affirming care for minors. Founded in 2021, the group is part of a broader network that opposes policies that support transgender youth.
Thierry’s flip leaves the partisan balance in the Texas House of Representatives at 87 Republicans and 63 Democrats. But her term ends before the Legislature reconvenes in January, so Simmons is expected to hold the district for Democrats in the next general election.