There's a decent chance that you know someone who, over the course of the 2024 election, switched their vote from Democrat to Republican in response to the Democratic party's rapid descent into insanity.
I doubt many of us know a judge who did it, though:
Here's the remainder of his X post:
Our shared values here in South Texas — hard work, faith, family, and freedom — are no longer pillars in the Democrat party and I want to be part of a party that stands and protects those principles. Republicans made major gains in South Texas, including Donald Trump winning my county — not because our values have changed, but because the Radical Democrat Party's values did.
I will continue to fight for what matters most in our community by supporting our oil and gas industry, securing our border, and keeping faith and family at the center of everything we do. I am committed to continuing to build a bright future for all South Texans.
And from his interview:
I've made a decision after careful thought and prayer and discussions with my family and community.
And over the years, I've watched the Democratic Party shift further and further to the Left and leaving the values that I hold dear to my heart.
I've always been a conservative, and the radicalization of the National Democrats pushed me away a long time ago.
For that reason, I'm proud to announce that today I will be leaving the Democratic Party and joining the Republican Party, and I'm proud of that.
The judge noted that he has "a moral compass" and has witnessed the Democratic Party "go so further and further left."
As he notes, it's not just a single-issue problem:
We need to have border security. ... [The] oil and gas industry has been threatened here in South Texas.
Then to be able to see everything that's going on from the woke movement from the boys playing in girls' sports and whatnot.
As Judge Tijerina notes, Democrats in South Texas "really are not the same as national Democrats," insofar as they are "very conservative for the most part." That presumably explains why it took him so long to switch.
Still, the time has come — and as he notes, the "Radical Democrat Party's" values have shifted very radically in recent years, to the point that he can't continue to support them:
I will continue to fight for what matters most in our community by supporting our oil and gas industry, securing our border, and keeping faith and family at the center of everything we do. I am committed to continuing to build a bright future for all South Texans.
And yes, since you're wondering, the cowboy hat is not just a little getup he put on for Fox News. It's apparently the good judge's official uniform. Here's his Webb County judge portrait:
Glad to have you on our side, judge, Stetson and all!
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