State Republican switches parties mid-term
OLYMPIA – Republican state Rep. Rodney Tom switched parties Tuesday and will challenge state Senate Republican Floor Leader Luke Esser this fall.
An irritated state Republican Chairwoman Diane Tebelius demanded that Tom resign his House seat, but Tom said he intended to serve the balance of his term as a Democrat.
Democrats, including Gov. Chris Gregoire, welcomed the convert. Gregoire called him to chat. The Democratic Party said Tom’s switch reflects a growing disenchantment of suburban moderates with hardline Republicans.
Esser and the Republicans said the Medina lawmaker’s decision came out of the blue. The GOP is a “big tent” party, and moderates were always welcome, they said. Some suggested that political ambition was the root cause.
Tebelius, in Washington, D.C., for meetings, said she was “totally shocked.” She called for his resignation, saying he was elected twice as a Republican and that his “calculating change of mind demonstrates a lack of credibility and sincerity.” Republicans haven’t changed – Tom has, she said.
Tom replied: “I’ve been elected by Republicans, Democrats and independents. No way am I resigning. It’s not going to happen.”
Tom minced no words, saying Esser and the legislative Republicans “have moved so far right they no longer represent the interests of mainstream voters. They have become more focused on partisan politics than real results.”
Tom said he had been mulling the switch for months and even thought about filing as a Democrat two years ago.
Tom, 42, now in his second term in the House, has been a leader of a small band of Republican progressives there. He broke with his conservative caucus to support gay civil rights, simple majority approval of school levies and last year’s 9 1/2-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase. He supports abortion rights.
“The party has been hijacked,” he said. “I have seen Luke Esser and the party continue to drift right.
“Personally, I have not changed. I think I’m a centrist, a pragmatist. I’m not in this for partisan politics; I want solutions. This is the right choice for me, and I think that as a Senate Democrat, I can have a lot of positive influence for my district.”
His decision to switch parties and take on Esser, his longtime ally, puts another suburban state Senate seat in play, since both have been elected by the same voters.
Democrats, who control the upper chamber 26 to 23, already had targeted two seats held by retiring Republican Sens. Bob Oke of Port Orchard and Steve Johnson of Kent.
Tom’s House seatmate in the Bellevue-centered 48th District is Democrat Ross Hunter. Democrats have been making inroads in the once solidly Republican suburbs on the east side of Lake Washington.
Tom apparently will have a primary battle. Debi Golden, who came close to Tom in the last House election, had previously declared her Senate bid and intends to stay in the race.
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, didn’t give Tom a preprimary endorsement but said she was delighted with his party switch.
“There is disillusionment about what is coming out of Washington, D.C., and here it’s ‘let’s get on board and make things happen’ (with Democrats),” she said. “Momentum seems to be moving in our direction. We had a successful session and people feel good about what happened in Olympia.”
The shift drops the House GOP caucus down to 42 seats and increases the Democrats to 56. All 98 seats are on the ballot this fall.