Free Republic

Another Georgia Democratic has jumped ship. State Rep. Mike Cheokas on Monday became the latest Democratic state lawmaker to switch his allegiance to the Republican Party. Cheokas, of Americus, is the ninth Democratic state lawmaker to switch sides since the Nov. 2 general election. Republicans now hold 114 seats in the 180-member House. Democrats control 63 seats, there is one independent and two seats are open. The GOP needs 120 seats for a supermajority in the chamber. Cheokas represents Sumter, Schley and Marion counties, as well as parts of Talbot County. He was first elected to the Georgia House in...

DAYTON — State Rep. Dixie Allen of Jefferson Twp. switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican Friday and plans to screen Saturday for an appointment to take over the Montgomery County Commission seat of recently retired Vicki Pegg. State Rep. John White of Kettering, chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said Allen "is the favorite and front-runner" for the county commission appointment because of her experience and "the level of respect she has earned as a legislator and community activist." Allen, a retired Wright-Patterson Air Force Base manager, has been a member of the Ohio House of Representatives...