A Democratic commissioner in New Mexico says she’s switching to the GOP because of the Democratic Party’s “far-left views” on abortion and other issues.
“As someone who believes in the sanctity of life, pro-growth economic policies, secure borders, and fiscal responsibility, I no longer feel there is a home for me in my former party that has embraced far-left views on these issues.”
Solis, a vice chair on the commission and a recent Las Cruces mayoral candidate, is in her first term.
She said she’s not sure if she'll run for re-election. Only Debra Hathaway has announced her candidacy for the seat so far.
Hathaway, a Democrat, told the Sun-News she didn’t agree with Solis on the modern Democratic Party.
“I believe that we have a very big umbrella,” Hathaway said. “We have space enough for people to have different ideas … I think if we keep it that way we can have a lot of Democrats with a lot of different ideas.”


A number of elected officials have been switching party affiliations this year.
Pennsylvania state Sen. John Yudichak left the Democratic Party to become an Independent earlier this month.
“The Republican Party, I believed, stood for limited government, economic freedom and individual liberty—principles that had made the American Dream possible for my family,” he wrote in an op-ed. “In recent years, though, I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions.”