North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee announced Tuesday that he is switching his political affiliation from Democrat to Republican, citing the Democrats’ shift toward socialism, Breitbart reports.
“In the Democratic Party of Nevada, they had an election recently for leadership, and four of the five people were card-carrying members of the socialistic (sic) party,” Lee told Fox & Friends Tuesday morning. “It’s not the party that I grew up with 25 years ago in this environment, and it’s not the party that I can stand with anymore.”
Breitbart reported that the mayor was referring to the elections for the Nevada State Democratic Party leadership, in which most of the candidates elected to the party’s top leadership posts were candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
“The working class, the working men and women of this country, and also the small business owners are not a part of the conversation anymore,” Lee said in the interview. “It all has to do with the elitists, and it has to do with the socialists. That is not the agenda that I have in mind for this country or the future.”
Lee has been mentioned as a possible Nevada gubernatorial candidate for the 2022 elections, but he denied he is running, the Review-Journal reported.
“I’m flattered, but at this point, I’m still focused on some big projects in North Las Vegas, and I don’t want to be distracted,” Lee said.
Today, I switched political parties. The Democratic Party is broken. It’s time to bring people together to get things done. It’s time to stop shouting and start solving problems. pic.twitter.com/PUDf5frc5D
— John Lee (@MayorJohnLee) April 6, 2021
Lee, who was considered a conservative Democrat when he served as a state legislator, was defeated by a Democrat, Patricia Spearman, in 2012. He won election as mayor the following year.