Another Democrat has changed political parties to become a Republican in the time leading up to the 2024 election. This time it was Nebraska State Senator Mike McDonnell who switched his political affiliation and claimed the Democrats punished him over his pro-life beliefs. McDonnell said: “I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious-based pro-life position. Instead, over the last year, they have decided to punish me for being pro-life.”
However, there’s another perspective of this that counters his statement. McDonnell was censured because he voted along with Republicans on topics like abortion or transgenders, and that triggered Democrats. WOWT reported on McDonnell being censured over this, saying the following in a political report:
The Nebraska Democratic Party censured McDonnell in March after he voted alongside Republicans particularly on matters regarding reproductive rights and rights of transgender Nebraskans. There had been talk of a formal censure last summer over the same issues, but no such vote was taken.
In a statement Wednesday, NDP Chairwoman Jane Kleeb reinforced the party’s decision to censure him, denying the action had anything to do with McDonnell’s religious beliefs or affiliation.
However, that doesn’t make much sense. If the Democrats in Nebraska censured him for voting along with Republicans on certain topics, then it technically is because of McDonnell’s beliefs. Kleeb issued a statement, saying the following: “The Nebraska Democratic Party will continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community. Our decision to censure Sen. McDonnell was never about him being a pro-life Catholic. Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions. We respect the ongoing work of Senator McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state.”
So basically, McDonnell was censured because of his beliefs. Kleeb can spin it any way she wants to, but this is ultimately what it came down to. Republican Pete Ricketts welcomed McDonnell to the party, saying the following: “I am pleased to welcome Senator Mike McDonnell to the Republican Team. The extreme new Democrats are pushing common sense officials and voters to our party. The addition of Mike McDonnell to the Republican rolls in the legislature means for the first time in recent memory there is a filibuster proof Republican majority in the Unicameral.“
