Anti-LGBTQ+ Democrat announces she’s switching parties at Moms for Liberty event

After losing her primary, Texas state Rep. Shawn Thierry, who formerly ran as a Democrat but suffered a massive loss in her primary, has switched parties.

Thierry made the announcement at a Moms for Liberty rally in Washington, D.C. Moms for Liberty is an SPLC-designated “extremist” group that opposes LGBTQ+ rights.

Related:

Texas denies trans people the ability to change the sex on their birth certificates

The change occurred quietly with no official announcement, but trans advocates are blasting the “hateful” policy.

In a press release provided to The Texan, Thierry said, “The Democratic Party has veered so far left, so deep into the progressive abyss, that it now champions policies I cannot, in good conscience, support — policies like promoting sex changes for vulnerable children and dismantling Title IX protections for women in sports. That’s why I am leaving the left and joining the party of family, faith, and freedom.”

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

“I now stand with colleagues, friends, neighbors, women, and mothers in the Republican Party,” she continued.

Thierry switched parties after her progressive opponent, Lauren Simmons, beat her in the Democratic primary. Thierry lost to Simmons with a wide margin: Simmons got 65 percent of the vote out of over 6,500 ballots cast.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who once extolled school vouchers as a means of avoiding LGBTQ+ teachers in public schools, welcomed her with open arms.

“Today, I am proud to welcome Representative Shawn Thierry to the Republican Party — the party of opportunity, individual liberty, and economic prosperity,” he said.

“Representative Thierry served in the Texas Legislature for four terms until the Democrat Party abandoned her after she delivered a 12-minute speech from the House floor in favor of a law I signed to protect Texas children. Her decision to switch parties demonstrates that the radical leftist agenda of the Democrat Party does not align with a majority of Americans. I look forward to continuing to work with Representative Thierry to build a bigger, better Texas for generations to come.”

During her tenure as a Democrat representative, Thierry voted for an anti-LGBTQ+ book ban and a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. She also once called gender-affirming care for trans people “Black genocide.“

Following Thierry’s voting for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, she was censured by a Democratic organization, the Meyerland Area Democrats Club of Houston.

Her former party members were not sad to see her go. Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Trey Martinez Fischer said, “As Chair of the Caucus, I do not get involved in primaries, but here is the honest truth: Shawn Thierry didn’t lose her seat because of a stance on a particular issue. She was fired by the voters of House District 146 because she didn’t respect their will and what they wanted for their community. After receiving thousands of dollars from right-wing interests, they knew — like we all did in the Capitol — that she now served special interests and not their own.”

“If Thierry looks at a party taking away the freedom for women to control their bodies, cutting healthcare for millions, and led by a racist, petty convict and says I want in on that mess, I think that says more about Shawn Thierry than about the Democratic Party. Adios.”

Don't forget to share: