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CANTON - Van Zandt County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Ronnie Daniell announced that he is switching parties and will run as a Republican in 2006. Daniell ran for office in 2003 on the Democratic ticket. He said his change of heart comes from his disappointment in certain leaders of the Democratic Party. "It's just very simple: I'm a person who believes in trying to be a peacemaker," he said. "With the leadership I've noted in the national and local party, I cannot in good conscience follow that party." Daniell said he has been considering the switch for awhile,...

A seven-year legislative veteran is switching parties, giving Republicans a milestone 100 seats in the House of Representatives. State Rep. Greg Morris, a Vidalia Democrat and entrenched party insider, is set to appear before friends and supporters in his hometown today to announce his defection to the GOP. His decision bolsters the comfort level of the new Republican leadership in the 180-member House, which heads into the 2006 General Assembly session in control of 100 seats, nine more votes than they need to pass most legislation. His defection is significant for Democrats since Morris, 41, was part of former Democratic...

A seven-year legislative veteran has switched parties, giving Republicans 100 House seats and added momentum to the party going into the 2006 governor's race. State Rep. Greg Morris, a Vidalia Democrat and party insider, is set to appear before friends and supporters in his hometown tomorrow to announce his defection to the GOP. His decision bolsters the comfort level of the new Republican leadership, which now heads into the 2006 legislative session with nine more seats than they need to win any vote in the 180-member chamber. His defection is significant for Democrats since Morris was part of former Democratic...

By Jeff Quinton Special to World Defense Review The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) committee process is always approached with trepidation by civilian leadership in military communities across the United States. There was a great deal of national table-talk regarding the preparations states and communities made in an attempt to stave off the closure of local bases, and lots of discussion surrounding the initial reactions after the list was released earlier this year. Let's now take a look at the various ways in which states and communities attempt to save their bases already slated for closing. Like the previous BRAC...

Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett announced Tuesday that he is switching parties. Burnett, formerly a Democrat, has aligned himself with the Republican Party. He said his decision has nothing to do with the people of the Democratic Party, but hinges entirely on platform issues. "I'm committed to doing the right thing," he said. "I thought it was the appropriate time to do it. It's not right before my election so it becomes an issue, it's the issue now." Burnett also said it's no secret that he ran as a Democrat in 2000 because "my mother asked me to." "I...

Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell has switched to the Republican Party almost 10 years in office as a Democrat, saying his work within his department is more in line with the principals of the GOP.

Clarion County District Attorney Mark Aaron announced Monday he is changing to a Republican party affiliation...Aaron, a native of Limestone Township, added he found it difficult to gather support for his objectives through his current affiliation.

JACKSON, Miss. - Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell has switched to the Republican Party after nine years in office as a Democrat, saying his work within his department is more in line with the principals of the GOP. Spell announced his decision late Friday in a written release. "I think over the years I have made a lot of changes in my department...increased efficiency and downsizing government," Spell said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This is very much in line with the principals of the Republican Party." Spell, a former mayor of Richland, said the switch to the...

Santa Fe City Councilman David Pfeffer, a decorated Vietnam veteran who recently switched from the Democratic to the Republican column, says he is “on the cusp” of challenging Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

Lawrence Davis, a former state Democratic Party chairman from Raleigh, has switched his registration to the Republican Party. Davis said he decided to switch parties because his personal beliefs on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriages and the lottery differed from the positions of the Democratic Party. "Basically, it's an effort to bring some coherence between my beliefs and my actions," Davis said. "I felt my [former] party was on the wrong side of right-wrong issues."

When Wes Clark ran for President, I was all for it. Here was a guy, the former commander of NATO who wanted to become the President. Soon thereafter I realized that just because Clark came from the military, he certainly was not a conservative. Clark took the pulpit to criticize Bush on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea without really putting together any ideas of what he would have done differently except that he would have built a 'coalition'. In a speech to the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors Association, Clark said that because of the recent round of military...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES City Councilman Otto Banks, the biggest vote-getter in Harrisburg, Pa., held a campaign fundraiser in the Pennsylvania state capital Friday with the help of Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman that sent new fears rippling through Democratic ranks. Mr. Banks, 33, a political newcomer, stunned Harrisburg's black community when he left the Democratic Party in March to become a Republican, starting what Mr. Mehlman and other Republican officials say they hope will become a realignment trend that will consign the Democrats to permanent minority status. Mr. Mehlman said Friday that he met with Mr. Banks before the party...

City Councilman Otto Banks, the biggest vote-getter in Harrisburg, Pa., held a campaign fundraiser in the Pennsylvania state capital Friday with the help of Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman that sent new fears rippling through Democratic ranks.Mr. Banks, 33, a political newcomer, stunned Harrisburg's black community when he left the Democratic Party in March to become a Republican, starting what Mr. Mehlman and other Republican officials say they hope will become a realignment trend that will consign the Democrats to permanent minority status.Mr. Mehlman said Friday that he met with Mr. Banks before the party switch and promised that if...

WASHINGTON -- The 2005 Base Realignmnent and Closure Commission began its work here yesterday. Commission Chairman Anthony J. Principi, former secretary of veterans affairs, administered the oath of office to the eight commissioners who will evaluate the Defense Department's recommendations for changes in U.S. force posture. After evaluating DoD's recommendations, the independent BRAC Commission will submit its own list to the president for review and approval, then to Congress, which must accept or reject the list in its entirety. "The Congress and the president look to this commission to provide an unbiased, independent assessment and clear 'eye of reality check'...

Posted on Mon, May. 02, 2005 Under the Sun Black voters warm to GOP By Harold Jackson Deputy Editorial Page Editor Could it be the Republicans have finally gotten it right? For more than two decades, I have been among those raising a skeptical eyebrow at GOP claims that the party of Lincoln wants more blacks under its tent. Talk is cheap, and their actions said otherwise to me. Until now. The 2004 elections and their aftermath have provided persuasive examples of effective Republican outreach to African Americans. Having successfully smooth-talked the formerly segregationist Dixiecrats into their fold (it took...

April 28, 2005 Red state? West Virginia shift Several times, we have posed this question for political experts: Why did West Virginia — long a Roosevelt-and-Kennedy Democratic “blue state” — become a Republican “red state” in the past two presidential elections, despite 2-to-1 Democratic registration? Why did this low-income state vote for the party of the rich — a party openly slashing help for common Americans and giving huge rewards to the wealthy? We never received an explanation from any of the state’s political professors or other societal analysts. But an answer was offered by one of the world’s premier...

Southern Democrats Turning GOP NewsMax.com Wires Monday, April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- In consecutive days last month, Alabama lost two legends from a disappearing movement - Southern Democrats who were powerful in Washington because of their party's majority and powerful back home because of their tendency to buck it. Look around Congress these days and you'll find few conservative Democrats in the mold of the late Sen. Howell Heflin or Rep. Tom Bevill. Those who remain are almost as likely to represent the Midwest or Great Plains as the once-solid South. According to Congressional Observer Publications, only one current House...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In consecutive days last month, Alabama lost two legends from a disappearing movement - Southern Democrats who were powerful in Washington because of their party's majority and powerful back home because of their tendency to buck it. Look around Congress these days and you'll find few conservative Democrats in the mold of the late Sen. Howell Heflin or Rep. Tom Bevill. Those who remain are almost as likely to represent the Midwest or Great Plains as the once-solid South.According to Congressional Observer Publications, only one current House member voted against his party at least a third of...

In consecutive days last month, Alabama lost two legends from a disappearing movement — Southern Democrats powerful in Washington because of their party's majority and powerful back home because of their tendency to buck it. Look around Congress these days and you'll find few conservative Democrats in the mold of the late Sen. Howell Heflin or Rep. Tom Bevill. Those who remain are almost as likely to represent the Midwest or Great Plains as the once-solid South. According to Congressional Observer Publications, only one current member of the U.S. House voted against his party at least a third of the...

Four longtime officeholders in Chambers County bolt Democrats, join regional trend ANAHUAC - Chambers County has joined other fast-growing suburban counties where Republicans are no longer swimming against the tide to win a county office. In fact, Republican contenders for Chambers County offices, which officials said started as a small "wave" in the late '90s, turned into a tidal wave within the past month as four more longtime Democratic officeholders defected to the other side. The four are among the county's more powerful elected officials: the county judge, district clerk, county attorney and county treasurer. They are responding to an...