In Tampa Bay area, 2,000 Republicans switch parties in days after Capitol riot

[Zorro]

More than half the Republican switchers changed to no party affiliation, while about 300 became Democrats. The rest went to minor parties.

Since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, what appears to be an unusual number of Republicans in the three biggest Tampa Bay area counties have switched parties, mostly to no party affiliation, but some becoming Democrats.

News reports in Florida and nationwide have noted a similar phenomenon elsewhere, with voters citing anger at President Donald Trump and his supporters.

But at least a few Republicans may also be switching out of anger that party leaders haven’t backed Trump strongly enough, including one Hillsborough County Republican Party official.

According to figures from Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas elections supervisors, 2,025 Republicans in the three counties switched parties from Jan. 6 through Thursday.

That compares to 306 Democrats who switched parties in the same period, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in the counties.

More than half the Republican switchers, 1,171, changed to no party affiliation, while 298 became Democrats and the rest went to minor parties – mostly the Independent Party, sometimes confused with “independent” status.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/01/15/in-tampa-bay-area-2000-republicans-switch-parties-in-days-after-capitol-riot/

Glad to see that the Republican Party is becoming too toxic for registered Republicans.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Here's hoping 'republican' becomes a dirty word

in the same way that they successfully ruined the word ‘liberal’ for generations.

[Leghorn21]

2. K&R!!

[sweetloukillbot]

3. I saw a tweet the other day that almost 5000 had switched in Arizona nt

[lagomorph777]

4. This explains why he still polls well with Pukes. Pukes are a shrinking party.

[BComplex]

5. That's exactly what I was thinking. The only repukes left adore trump.

[MisterNiceKitty]

6. All these numbers from around the country add up

[DeminPennswoods]

7. There was a similar story in my local paper

about R voters changing their registrations in Pennsylvania. The most interesting comment was from a Cumberland county R who said that now it has only a slight R registration edge. Cumberland county is adjacent to Dauphin county (Harrisburg) to the southwest. The two counties share a very small border.
Cumberland is in the heart of the GOP base, too, below Perry county and between York and Adams counties.

[FakeNoose]

15. I saw the same story, and sent it to my friend in Lancaster

I think it's the tip of the iceberg. A lot of people will "quit" voting R but not necessarily join the Democratic Party. I think many will stay independent, at least for a while.

[DeminPennswoods]

16. Except in Westmoreland county

where, apparently, a lot of residents changed to R. But that's ok since their party registration will now align with how they vote.

That's how it seems to work with party switchers, they go to I first before registering with the opposite party.

[Karadeniz]

8. Why would people quit the Democratic party after the insurrection?

[meadowlander]

13. Human stupidity is unfathomable.

[Karadeniz]

14. Must be!

[BigmanPigman]

9. His approval rating is now at 29%

according to a new Per Research Poll.

[mdbl]

10. I predict a third party "MAGA Party"

where else are those morons going to go? They all came in from stupidsville on last night's bus.

[DeminPennswoods]

17. Think George Wallace in 1968

He ran on the "American Independent Party" ticket.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. It's an old trick

It's like the Germans who claimed they were Swiss after they lost the war.

I have no intention voting for any "recent" dems until I know their whole
history.

[ancianita]

26. + 1,000!

[Eid Ma Clack Shaw]

12. This is why it's SO important to keep up pressure on corporations not to slither back to those

who bear responsibility for last week's dreadful event. Elected Republicans will only to see Trumpism as the despicable entity it is if it’s spelled out R E A L L Y slow. I have a feeling plenty will become a bit more brave if they realise that their future is no corporate campaign money and a rapidly shrinking party.

I rather suspect that a repeat of the election right now would see Trump struggling to reach 40%, with Biden close to 60%. Of course, it would still be a catastrophic indictment on the American experiment if Trump was only at 20%, but hey, Republicans...

[rainin]

18. Beware of candidates who run as dems but used to be repukes

We have to have a strategy for monitoring this. We could end up with two trump supporting candidates running against each other, if we're not careful: a republican vs. a fake democrat. They're devious. We must be vigilant

[wishstar]

19. Around 2000 NC Republicans have also switched to Independent since Jan 6

I saw a report about NC losing Repubs too.

[AllaN01Bear]

20. i always warn people that if u go independant , be careful, as there is a party with same name .

much better if u say decline to state or non partisan.

[ailsagirl]

21. Great to hear

[a kennedy]

22. Wait now, how is Ivanka going to win with less Repubs???

She aint’t gonna win.

[MyMission]

23. In NC, 2,879 left the gop as of 1/11

Wondering what the current number is for all of Florida.
And what the numbers are for other states. The article mentioned it was a trend across the US. Something to follow.

[lindysalsagal]

25. And with donors leaving, will the gop ever give up on hate as their base?

Nope.