NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV – According to reports, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee announced on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning that he would be leaving the Democratic Party with the intention of becoming a Republican, with his reasoning being what he perceives as his former party’s increasing embracement of socialism.
Lee noted that the final straw was the seats of leadership for the Nevada State Democratic Party being up for grabs in a recent election, with the majority of positions won by members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“In the Democratic Party of Nevada, they had an election recently for leadership, and four of the five people were card-carrying members of the socialistic [sic] party,” Lee said on the program. “It’s not the party that I grew up with 25 years ago in this environment and it’s not the party that I can stand with anymore.”
After witnessing what he believes is the changing face of the Democratic Party in his home state, Lee said that the way it has been evolving over the years no longer coincides with his personal principles.
“It made me realize that what was happening in the national discussion was actually living itself out in the state of Nevada. And it was more than I could take and I just decided my value system was such that I couldn’t take anymore. I just needed to move on,” he said. “It just became such that a pro-life, pro-gun, Christian such as me was finding that there was definitely no place left in this party anymore. I didn’t say that about the Democratic people, I said that about this party.”
Lee had previously been a small businessman and had served in the Nevada Assembly and State Senate until he lost a reelection bid in 2012; he then won the election for Mayor of North Las Vegas in 2013 and was reelected in 2017, at which time he stated that he would not run for a third term. Lee has also denied rumors of running for Nevada Governor in 2022.
The new chairperson of the Nevada State Democratic Party, Judith Whitmer, noted in a statement that they apparently feel the same way about Lee as he feels about them, in terms of fitting in with the party’s changing values.
“Mayor John Lee, who claims to have voted for Donald Trump twice, has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association, and has always opposed a woman’s right to choose, has long been out of step with the core values of the Democratic Party, even as he has used our ballot line time and again to run for and win election to public office,” she said.
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