Mesha Mainor Joins Republican Party Following Disagreements With Democratic Leaders

Mesha Mainor, a Georgia legislator, has switched parties after she disagreed with the Democrats on a number of issues.

Mainor alleges that the Democrats left her out to dry following her choices to back an unpopular school choice voucher program and refusal to defund the police. As recently as April, the state representative was on record claiming that she would never switch political parties.

“I don’t think I vote with Republicans. I vote for what my constituency needs,” she told Axios. “No party has all the answers. I’m not the only one. People are afraid of Josh McLaurin putting $1,000 checks on the table.”

McLaurin allegedly offered $1,000 to any Democrat who would run against Mainor. “There are at least as many members who know Rep. Mainor is more a Republican than a Democrat, not just on vouchers but on a range of issues,” McLaurin told Axios. “But they’re also hesitant to make that public.”

Mainor’s party defection establishes her as the first female Black Republican from Georgia in the party’s history. Her statements on Twitter seem to lend credence to McLaurin’s claims that Mainor was a closet Republican.

A recent tweet reads “I didn’t leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left ME when it embraced left-wing radicalism, lawlessness, and put the interests of illegal aliens over the interest of Americans. I have nothing to apologize for.” Another tweet from Mainor declared, “This wasn’t a political decision for me. It was a MORAL one. I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own.”

Making it easier to vote and harder to cheat isn’t Jim Crow.

It’s common sense.

Vote Early. Vote Often. That is how we keep Georgia (and every state!) red! #BankYourVote https://t.co/uiSCj5k37Y

— Rep. Mesha Mainor (@MeshaMainor) July 11, 2023

According to the Associated Press, Mainor’s actions are driven by a much more personal matter. In 2022, Mainor sued Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis, and Fulton County. Mainor alleged that her civil rights were violated by an ex-campaign worker who stalked her.

Mainor claimed that Arrington, who was the primary defense attorney, used his position as county commissioner to get her stalker a favorable deal and that Willis didn’t thoroughly investigate before giving the former campaign worker the plea option. Judge Sarah Geraghty dismissed the case in March 2023, citing that even if all of Mainor’s claims were true, they didn’t necessarily amount to a violation of her civil rights.

Mainor will still serve the rest of her term in a district that elected a Democratic representative. Once her term ends in 2024 it is expected that she will face stiff opposition from her former party. The 56th District in Georgia leans heavily Democratic. She won election as a Democrat in 2021 with a 60% of the vote.