The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office.
Name | State | District | Date of party switch | Congress | Old party | New party | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rodney Alexander | Louisiana | 5th | August 9, 2004 | 108th | Democratic | Republican | [1] | |
Justin Amash | Michigan | 3rd | July 4, 2019 | 116th | Republican | Independent | [2] | |
May 1, 2020 | Independent | Libertarian | [3] | |||||
Eugene Atkinson | Pennsylvania | 25th | October 14, 1981 | 97th | Democratic | Republican | Lost re-election in 1982 after being redistricted to the 4th district. | [4] |
William Carney | New York | 1st | October 7, 1985 | 99th | Conservative | Republican | ||
Nathan Deal | Georgia | 9th | April 11, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | [5] | |
Jo Ann Emerson | Missouri | 8th | January 3, 1997 | 105th | Republican | Independent | Emerson was re-elected to a full term as an independent after running under that designation to comply with Missouri's electoral law. | |
January 8, 1997 | Independent | Republican | ||||||
Michael Forbes | New York | 1st | July 17, 1999 | 106th | Republican | Democratic | [6] | |
Virgil Goode | Virginia | 5th | January 24, 2000 | 106th | Democratic | Independent | Caucused with the Republican Party. | [7] [8] |
August 1, 2002 | 107th | Independent | Republican | [9] | ||||
Phil Gramm | Texas | 6th | 1983 | 98th | Democratic | Republican | Gramm resigned his seat as a Democrat on January 5, 1983, and then won a special election as a Republican on February 12, 1983. | |
James W. Grant | Florida | 2nd | February 21, 1989 | 101st | Democratic | Republican | [10] | |
Parker Griffith | Alabama | 5th | December 22, 2009 | 111th | Democratic | Republican | Later rejoined the Democratic party. | [11] |
Galusha A. Grow | Pennsylvania | 14th | 1856 | 34th | Democratic | Republican | [12] | |
Ralph Hall | Texas | 4th | January 2004 | 108th | Democratic | Republican | [13] | |
Jimmy Hayes | Louisiana | 7th | December 1, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | ||
Andy Ireland | Florida | 10th | July 5, 1984 | 98th | Democratic | Republican | Announced the switch on March 17, 1984, but didn't officially make it until July 5 in order to keep his Democratic committee assignments for as long as possible. | [14] [15] |
John Jarman | Oklahoma | 5th | January 24, 1975 | 94th | Democratic | Republican | [16] | |
Greg Laughlin | Texas | 14th | June 26, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | [17] | |
Matthew G. Martínez | California | 31st | July 27, 2000 | 106th | Democratic | Republican | Switched parties after losing the Democratic primary for re-election | [18] |
Paul Mitchell | Michigan | 10th | December 14, 2020 | 116th | Republican | Independent | Switched parties during the lame duck session, three weeks before his retirement. | [19] |
Michael Parker | Mississippi | 4th | November 10, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | ||
Ogden Reid | New York | 26th | March 22, 1972 | 92nd | Republican | Democratic | [20] | |
Donald Riegle | Michigan | 7th | 1973 | 93rd | Republican | Democratic | [21] | |
Tommy F. Robinson | Arkansas | 2nd | July 28, 1989 | 101st | Democratic | Republican | [22] | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. | New York | 20th | January 3, 1951 | 82nd | Liberal | Democratic | Roosevelt was re-elected as a Democrat. | |
Bob Stump | Arizona | 3rd | September 24, 1981 | 98th | Democratic | Republican | Did not officially change party until the 1982 election for a term beginning January 3, 1983. | [23] [24] |
Billy Tauzin | Louisiana | 3rd | August 8, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | [25] | |
Jeff Van Drew | New Jersey | 2nd | January 7, 2020 | 116th | Democratic | Republican | [26] | |
Albert Watson | South Carolina | 2nd | 1965 | 90th | Democratic | Republican | Watson resigned his seat as a Democrat on February 1, 1965, and then won a special election as a Republican on June 15, 1965. | |
Hendrick Bradley Wright | Pennsylvania | 12th | 1879 | 46th | Democratic | Greenback |
Name | State | Date of party switch | Congress | Old party | New party | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James L. Buckley | New York | 1976 | 94th | Conservative | Republican | ||
Ben Nighthorse Campbell | Colorado | March 4, 1995 | 104th | Democratic | Republican | [27] | |
Reuben Fenton | New York | 1872 | 42nd | Republican | Liberal Republican | The Liberal Republican Party was new and short-lived. Did not seek re-election in the 1874 and 1875 United States Senate elections. | [28] |
1873 | 43rd | Liberal Republican | Republican | ||||
Jim Jeffords | Vermont | May 24, 2001 | 107th | Republican | Independent | Caucused with the Democrats after becoming an independent, giving Democrats a majority in the US Senate. His switch became the only time in US history that a party switch resulted in a change of party control of the Senate. | [29] [30] |
Robert M. La Follette Jr. | Wisconsin | May 1934 | 74th | Republican | Wisconsin Progressive | Co-founded the Wisconsin Progressive Party and was re-elected to Senate on that ticket in 1934 and 1940. | [31] |
1946 | 79th | Wisconsin Progressive | Republican | The Wisconsin Progressive Party was dissolved in 1946. Lost re-election to the Senate when defeated by Joseph McCarthy in the Republican primary later that same year. | [32] | ||
Joe Lieberman | Connecticut | 2006/2007 (see note) | 110th | Democratic | Independent | Liberman left the Democratic Party after losing the Democratic primary for re-election. Technically, he ran under the party named Connecticut for Lieberman but he himself never officially joined that party. He called himself an Independent Democrat after winning re-election. | [33] [34] |
Richard Shelby | Alabama | November 9, 1994 | 103rd | Democratic | Republican | Switch announced the day after the 1994 United States Senate elections, in which Shelby was not up for reelection, but the Republicans gained the majority in the Senate. | [35] |
Kyrsten Sinema | Arizona | December 9, 2022 | 118th | Democratic | Independent | [36] | |
Bob Smith | New Hampshire | July 1999 | 106th | Republican | Independent | [37] | |
November 1999 | Independent | Republican | |||||
Arlen Specter | Pennsylvania | April 28, 2009 | 111th | Republican | Democratic | [38] | |
Strom Thurmond | South Carolina | September 16, 1964 | 88th | Democratic | Republican | [39] | |
Lyman Trumbull | Illinois | 1871 | 42nd | Republican | Liberal Republican | The Liberal Republican Party was new and short-lived. Lost re-election in the 1872–73 United States Senate elections to the Republican candidate. |
Name | Office | Date of party switch | Old party | New party | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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