There’s a huge hole in the wall of California’s Democratic supermajority. Democratic Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, who has recently clashed with her party’s majority in the House, is now switching her party affiliation to the Republicans.
Hold on to your pearls. KCRA’s Ashley Zavala was first to break the news.
BREAKING NEWS: California Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil is changing her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
She represents a swing district that includes parts of the Central Valley and Eastern California and tends toward the Republicans. https://t.co/2ENdXSUk7u
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) 8 August 2024
Democratic Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil is switching her party affiliation to the Republicans, multiple sources told KCRA 3 on the condition of anonymity.
Alvarado-Gil represents the 4th Senate District, which includes portions of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties. She was first elected to her State Senate seat in 2022 and is up for re-election in 2026.
The Senate Republican faction declined to comment until Thursday afternoon.
House Republican Rapid Response staffer George Andrew reposted Zavala’s X-post with this picture of former Rep. (now Secretary of State) Shirley Weber and former Rep. Lorena Gonzalez. The picture was likely taken when the two-thirds majority first took over the State Capitol.
Somehow based.
https://t.co/pd5HDmyAPw pic.twitter.com/oAz23UEib3
— George Andrews (@gjandrews) 8 August 2024
Alvarado-Gil spoke with California-based podcast host Steve Hilton to announce the move and explain why she decided to make the move.
REGARD:
BREAKING NEWS: California Democratic Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil has switched to the Republican Party!
“It’s time for me to leave the Democrats and join my colleagues in the Republican caucus.” pic.twitter.com/MraaSFZmU7
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) 9 August 2024
Alvarado-Gil also issued a statement to POLITICO:
Statement by Marie Alvarado-Gil on switching to the Republican Party.
“The status quo under a two-thirds Democratic majority in the legislature simply does not work for this state.” #LegislativeCandidates pic.twitter.com/xmKvr5l9Xu
— Lara Korte (@lara_korte) 8 August 2024
“From my first day in office, I have put the interests of my constituents first. I was elected to serve the public, not a political ideology,” Alvarado-Gil said.
“The status quo under a two-thirds Democratic majority in the legislature simply does not work for this state. After careful consideration, I am announcing that I will join the Republican Senate Caucus and the California Republican Party in their fight to fix California.
“Since serving in our state’s Capitol, I have witnessed firsthand how the overwhelming majority pushed California in the wrong direction, with earnest implications for our once golden state. The Democratic Party is unrecognizable from what I once knew and lacks the will to solve the problems plaguing this state. I cannot support a party that ignores the will of the people and disregards the fundamental American values that my community supports and believes in.”
Democratic Senator pro tempore Mike McGuire issued a statement saying Alvarado-Gil’s party switch was “disappointing to voters.”
Statement by the Democratic Leader of the California Senate @ilike_mike
“This is disappointing to the voters who elected Senator Alvarado-Gil as a Democrat. They trusted her to represent them, and she betrayed that trust. Senate Democrats will continue to stand up for her and deliver results…— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) 8 August 2024
“This is disappointing for the voters who elected Senator Alvarado-Gil as a Democrat,” said Mike McGuire, Democratic Senator pro tempore of California, in a statement. “They trusted her to represent them, and she betrayed that trust. Senate Democrats will continue to stand up for her and deliver results for rural California. One bright spot is that MAGA Republicans are gaining a colleague who is pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+ rights, and anti-Trump. We wish her the best of luck.”
“They trusted her to represent them and she abused that trust”? Excuse me?! Her district leans Republican and would probably have been won by a Republican had it not been for the horrific jungle primary in California and several Republicans cancelling each other out. As her statement above proves, Alvarado-Gil sees herself as a “Western Blue Dog” Democrat, meaning she stands up for individual liberties, supports law enforcement, protects public safety, and believes that criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and should be sent to prison after conviction, not released to commit more crimes. Alvarado-Gil actually withdrew her name from public safety legislation when the Democratic supermajority tried to introduce poison pills to block passage of the reform initiative Prop 47 (now on the November ballot as Prop 36).
I am withdrawing my co-authorship of two retail theft bills after unconsulted changes were made. I stand by the #Prop47 Reform initiative and voters’ rights, but I am against the political tactics. #CA #California #RetailTheft #Sacramento #Capitol pic.twitter.com/QkWfqAXHjW
– Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (@AlvaradoGilSD4) June 12, 2024
Underneath her photo, Alvarado-Gil wrote this sentence that gives insight into her personality and the kind of legislator she wants to be: “My grandfather fought bull in the matador arena – now I wear boots to fight bull in the halls of Sacramento.”
From her testimony, her appearance on Hilton’s podcast, and her recent actions bucking party orthodoxy, it seems that Alvarado-Gil has had enough of the nonsense and “bullshit” of the Democratic supermajority and has responded accordingly with this party switch. Although the Democrats still hold their supermajority in the Senate with 31 of 40 seats instead of 32, the CAGOP welcomed Alvarado-Gil and seems quite excited about the improvement in her electoral prospects.
Please join us in welcoming Senator @AlvaradoGil2026 to the Republican Party of California! 🎉🐘 pic.twitter.com/8CYDLbQ9Z5
– CAGOP (@CAGOP) 9 August 2024
Brian Jones, the Republican minority leader in the Senate, also welcomed Alvarado-Gil’s move across party lines.
Welcome Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil to the Senate Republican Caucus.
It takes courage to stand up against the overwhelming majority in California, and Marie has what it takes. Her track record of fighting crime, protecting communities from sexually violent predators, and prioritizing her…
— Brian W. Jones (@SenBrianJones) 9 August 2024
Welcome Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil to the Senate Republican Caucus.
It takes courage to stand up against the overwhelming majority in California, and Marie has what it takes.
Their record in fighting crime, protecting the public from sex offenders and prioritizing their electorate speaks for itself.
Senate Republicans are committed to addressing the real problems facing communities across the state and look forward to bringing a dedicated campaigner like Marie to the table.
It’s no secret that California’s political landscape is heavily left-leaning, but with increasing attention to issues exacerbated by Democratic policies, we can continue to make progress in our fight.
The pendulum swings in this great state.
If we are to fix California, we need pragmatic leaders like Marie who have seen firsthand the impact of two-thirds majority policies on communities and are committed to changing them for the better.
And for those who are tired of watching the overwhelming majority drive the state into ruin, we also have a place at our table for them.
However, not all Republican lawmakers welcome Alvarado-Gil with open arms.
No. She is not welcome. We do not need any more RINOs in the group. We have all the supplies.
Did she even respond to her @KamalaHarris already confirmation? https://t.co/z4WLbvzwTg
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) 9 August 2024
It is unconfirmed whether Alvarado-Gil is supporting the vice president’s presidential bid. For a California congressman to switch from Democrat to Republican is quite unprecedented. The last time this happened was in 1944.
The last time a state senator switched party affiliation from D to R in the middle of a term was almost exactly 80 years ago: Jack Tenney on September 24, 1944. https://t.co/AnwsEMBYRc pic.twitter.com/tD4KSr1ZAc
— Alex Vassar 📚 (@AlexCVassar) 8 August 2024
Essayli also questioned the sincerity of Alvarado-Gil’s statement and again alluded to Alvarado-Gil’s support for Vice President Kamala Harris and asked whether she would now retract it.
That’s strange, I can’t remember her making a single critical comment about her party in the last two years.
Does she regret her liberal votes in the Senate? Does she regret supporting @KamalaHarris two weeks ago?
Did she have an overnight revelation or is it more likely that she… https://t.co/C9sx5emoJB
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) 9 August 2024
That’s strange, I can’t remember her making a single critical comment about her party in the last two years.
Does she regret her liberal votes in the Senate?
Does she regret the support @KamalaHarris two weeks ago?
Did she have an overnight revelation or is it more likely that she is desperately trying to get re-elected in a predominantly Republican district?
There is also reason to remain somewhat skeptical about the timing of the announcement.
It’s perfectly normal that a Democrat from a Central Valley/North State district who toes the party line, supports Kamala, and just voted for a resolution praising Joe Biden, happened to be in LA the day a conservative police chief filed his candidacy against her next candidacy – so she could…
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) 9 August 2024
It’s perfectly normal that a Democrat from a Central Valley/North State district who voted along party lines, supported Kamala, and just voted for a resolution praising Joe Biden would happen to be in LA the day a conservative police chief filed to run against her next election cycle – so she could film TV interviews and announce her party switch at the end of the day.
Alvarado-Gil is ready for Re-election in 2026So we will be watching to see whether this means a further erosion of the “blue wall” in California or an even greater dilution of the Republican Party than it already is.
