Conservatives praised the previously Democratic mayor of Dallas, Texas, on Friday after he announced in an op-ed that he was switching to the Republican Party.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that he is leaving the Democratic Party because "the future of America’s great urban centers depends on the willingness of the nation’s mayors to champion law and order and practice fiscal conservatism."
"Welcome, Mayor!" Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Texas is getting more Red every day," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X.
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"Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson switches to Republican Party. He’s pro law enforcement & won’t tolerate leftist agendas. Two of the 10 largest cities in America now have Republican Mayors & they are both in Texas."
"We are thrilled to have @Johnson4Dallas join the Republican Party," Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi posted on X.
"Welcome to Team Sanity Mayor Johnson," conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X.
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"In his tenure as mayor he has set the example by fighting to lower property taxes, resisted efforts to defund the police and make Dallas safer. We look forward to working with him to make Dallas better."
"Welcome to the party of law and order, economic growth, and American prosperity," Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes posted on X.
"Our cities desperately need the genuine commitment to these principles (as opposed to the inconsistent, poll-driven commitment of many Democrats) that has long been a defining characteristic of the GOP," Johnson wrote in the op-ed.
"In other words, American cities need Republicans — and Republicans need American cities," he continued. "When my political hero Theodore Roosevelt was born, only 20% of Americans lived in urban areas. By the time he was elected president, that share had doubled to 40%. Today, it stands at 80%. As America’s cities go, so goes America."
