2 More Kansas Republicans Just Left Their Party To Become Democrats

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kansas-lawmakers-republican-democrats_us_5c1a9503e4b01059bfc6713d?fbclid=IwAR2LJ9MpwVFlPSbBoL5l4SkKq03kkGJUNUrhzq3WpgfeWAC-w2v9q-EWgcU

By Nick Visser
Dec. 19, 2018

Two Kansas Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they would leave their party and join the Democratic minority because the GOP is no longer serving in the best interests of their state.

Kansas state Sen. Dinah Sykes and state Rep. Stephanie Clayton, who had identified as moderate Republicans in the past, announced their decisions ahead of the upcoming legislative session, which begins next month. The lawmakers said they were disappointed in Republican leaders who focused on “issues and approaches that divide our country,” as Sykes put it, rather than their constituents’ needs.

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Four Kansas Republican lawmakers have switched to the Democratic party this month. Along with Sykes and Clayton, state Sen. Barbara Bollier and outgoing state Rep. Joy Koesten announced they are leaving the GOP.

Bollier said last week that despite her 43-year history as a registered Republican, she had developed “frustrations that have been ongoing” to the point of swapping affiliations. She also cited President Donald Trump as a leading influence in her decision.

“I cannot be complicit in supporting” the president, Bollier told the Kansas City Star. “I can’t call it leadership. I don’t even know what to call him. He is our president, but he is not representing my value system remotely.”