List of party switchers in the United States

Switches by Democrats Democratic to Republican 1850–1899 1855 – Reuben Fenton, while U.S. representative from New York (1853–1855 and 1857–1864), later governor of New York (1865–1868) and U.S. senator from New York (1869–1875) 1856 – Simon Cameron, while U.S. senator from Pennsylvania (1856–1861 and 1867–1877) and United States secretary of war (1861–1862) 1856 – Galusha A. Grow, while U.S. representative from Pennsylvania (1851–1863 and 1894–1903), later 28th speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1861–1863) 1856 – Hannibal Hamlin, while U.S. senator for Maine (1848–1861 and 1869–1881), later governor of Maine (1857) and 15th vice president of the United States (1861–1865) 1856 – Glenni William Scofield, while U.S. representative from Pennsylvania (1863–1875) 1860s – Ambrose Burnside, later Governor of Rhode Island (1866–1869) and U.S. senator from Rhode Island (1875–1881) 1860s – Benjamin Franklin Butler, later became U.S. representative from Massachusetts (1867–1875 and 1877–1879) and governor of Massachusetts (1883–1884) 1860s – James M. Hinds, later U.S. representative from Arkansas (1868) 1864 – Thompson Campbell, former U.S. representative from Illinois (1851–1853) 1865 – John A. Logan, while U.S. representative from Illinois (1853–1862 and 1867–1871), later U.S. senator from Illinois (1871–1877 and 1879–1886) 1865 – Knute Nelson, later U.S. representative from Minnesota (1883–1889), governor of Minnesota (1893–1895), and U.S. senator from Minnesota (1895–1923) 1867 – John Adams Dix, former United States secretary of the treasury (1861) & U.S. senator from New York (1845–1849); later governor of New York (1873–1874) 1869 – David P. Lewis, later governor of Alabama (1872–1874) 1870 – James Lawrence Orr, former speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1857–1859) and U.S. representative (1849–1859), later governor of South Carolina (1865–1868) 1893 – James A. Walker, lieutenant governor of Virginia (1878–1882), later U.S. representative for Virginia (1895–1899) 1896 – Irving W. Drew, former New Hampshire state senator, later U.S. senator from New Hampshire (1918)

1900–1949 1904 – Harry M. Wurzbach, later U.S. representative from Texas (1921–1929 and 1930–1931) 1911 – Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, later governor of New Mexico (1919–1921) and U.S. senator from New Mexico (1928–1929) 1933 – Raymond Moley, adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1939 – Wendell Willkie, later Republican nominee for president in 1940 1940 – Jack Porter, challenger to Lyndon Johnson in the 1948 Texas Senate elections 1946 – Rudolph G. Tenerowicz, former U.S. representative from Michigan (1939–1943) 1947 – John Aspinwall Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1948 – J. Thomas Watson, former Florida Attorney General (1941–1949) 1949 – Joseph A. McArdle, former U.S. representative from Pennsylvania (1939–1942) 1949 – Rush D. Holt Sr., former U.S. senator from West Virginia (1935–1941)Rush D. Holt Sr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

1950–1959 1951 – John Tower, later U.S. senator from Texas (1961–1985) 1951- Thad Hutchinson, future chair of the Republican Party of Texas 1952 – Alphonzo E. Bell Jr., later U.S. representative from California (1961–1977) 1952 – Henry Hyde, later U.S. representative from Illinois (1975–2007) 1955 – Ben Adamowski, later Cook County State's Attorney 1956 – Johnston Murray, former governor of Oklahoma (1951–1955) 1958 – Phil Ferguson, former U.S. representative from Oklahoma (1935–1941), Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma in 1958 1958 – Odell Pollard, later chair of the Arkansas Republican Party

1960–1969 1960 – Robert Daniel, later U.S. representative from Virginia (1973–1983) 1960 – Claude R. Kirk Jr., later governor of Florida (1967–1971) 1960 – Arthur Ravenel Jr., South Carolina state representative, later U.S. representative from South Carolina (1987–1995) 1960 – Marion Hartzog Smoak, later Chief of Protocol of the United States (1972–1974) 1961 – Jack Cox, former Texas state representative 1962 – Jim Gardner, later U.S. representative (1967–1969) and lieutenant governor (1989–1993) of North Carolina 1962 – W. Don MacGillivray, California state representative 1962 – James D. Martin, later U.S. representative from Alabama (1965–1967) 1962 – David McCain, Florida Supreme Court justice 1962 – Ronald Reagan, while an actor and former Screen Actors Guild president, later 33rd governor of California (1967–1975) and 40th president of the United States (1981–1989) 1962 – Floyd Spence, South Carolina state representative, later a U.S. representative from South Carolina (1971–2001) 1962 – Dave Treen, later U.S. representative from Louisiana (1973–1980) and governor of Louisiana (1980–1984) 1963 – FitzGerald Bemiss, Virginia state senator 1963 – James H. Boyce, later chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party 1963 – M. Patton Echols, Virginia state senator 1963 – Burnet R. Maybank Jr., former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina (1959–1963) 1963 – Stanford Morse, Mississippi state senator 1963 – Rubel Phillips, former Mississippi public service commissioner 1963 – Edward Lunn Young, later U.S. representative from South Carolina (1973–1975) 1964 – Arthur Glenn Andrews, later U.S. representative from Alabama (1965–1967) 1964 – Iris Faircloth Blitch, former U.S. representative from Georgia (1955–1963) 1964 – Howard Callaway, later U.S. representative from Georgia (1965–1967) and United States secretary of the Army (1973–1975) 1964 – William Dickinson, later a U.S. representative from Alabama (1965–1993) 1964 – John Paul Hammerschmidt, later U.S. representative from Arkansas (1967–1993) 1964 – Charles W. Pickering, later Mississippi state senator and judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (2004) 1964 – Clarke Reed, later chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party 1964 – Strom Thurmond, while U.S. senator from South Carolina (1954–2003) 1964 – Faith Whittlesey, Pennsylvania state representative 1965 – Arthur R. Outlaw, mayor of Mobile, Alabama 1965 – George Yarbrough, Mississippi state senator 1966 – Fred Connors, South Carolina state representative 1966 – Henry Grover, Texas state representative 1966 – Jerome Hughes, South Carolina state representative 1966 – Reid Moore Jr., Florida state representative 1967 – Bill Archer, Texas health commissioner, later a U.S. representative (1971–2001) 1967 – David L. Brower, Florida state representative 1967 – Thad Cochran, later a U.S. representative from Mississippi (1973–1978) and U.S. senator from Mississippi (1978–2018) 1967 – Jerry H. Geisler, Virginia state representative 1967 – Jack B. Ray, State treasurer of Georgia (1965–71) 1967 – Ronnie Thompson, mayor of Macon, Georgia 1968 – Grailey Berryhill, Tennessee state representative 1968 – James L. Bentley, Comptroller General of Georgia (1963–1971) 1968 – Jim Caldwell, Arkansas state representative 1968 – Phil Campbell, Commissioner of Agriculture of Georgia (1955–1969) 1968 – Sanford Charron, former Michigan state representative 1968 – William E. Dannemeyer, former California state representative and later U.S. representative from California (1979–1993) 1968 – R. Earl Dixon, Florida state representative 1968 – Alpha A. Fowler Jr., member of the Georgia Public Service Commission 1968 – Gordon McLendon, radio broadcaster and frequent political candidate in Texas 1968 – Curtis S. Person Jr., Tennessee state representative 1968 – Crawford Pilcher, member of the Georgia Public Service Commission 1969 – Guy O. Farley Jr., Virginia state representative 1969 – Raymond R. Guest Jr., Virginia state representative 1969 – Donald Hazelton, Florida state representative

1970–1979 1970 – Bob Barr, later U.S. representative from Georgia (1995–2003) 1970 – John Chichester, Virginia state senator 1970 – A. C. Clemons, Louisiana state senator (1960–1972) 1970 – Sterling Cockrill, Arkansas state representative 1970 – J. Robert Cooper, Georgia state representative 1970 – Jesse Helms, later U.S. senator from North Carolina (1973–2003) 1970 – William Oswald Mills, later U.S. representative from Maryland (1971–1973) 1971 – Tillie K. Fowler, later U.S. representative from Florida (1993–2001) 1971 – James Nowlin, Texas state representative 1972 – Thomas F. Hartnett, later U.S. representative from South Carolina (1981–1987) 1972 – Trent Lott, later U.S. representative from Mississippi (1973–1989) and U.S. senator from Mississippi (1989–2007) 1972 – Robert R. Neall, later secretary of the Maryland Department of Health (2018–2020) 1972 – Graham Purcell Jr., U.S. representative from Texas (1962–1973) 1973 – John Connally, former United States secretary of the treasury (1971–1972) and former governor of Texas (1963–1969) 1973 – Mills E. Godwin Jr., former governor of Virginia (1966–1970) and lieutenant Governor of Virginia (1962–1966), later re-elected governor of Virginia (1974–1978) 1973 – Samuel I. Hayakawa, president of San Francisco State University, later U.S. senator from California (1977–1983) 1975 – Elizabeth Dole, later United States secretary of transportation (1983–1987), United States secretary of labor (1989–1990) and U.S. senator from North Carolina (2003–2009) 1975 – John Jarman, while U.S. representative from Oklahoma (1951–1977) 1976 – Leon Bramlett, former chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party 1976 – Shirley Winsley, Washington state representative 1977 – Lane Carson, Louisiana state representative 1977 – A. J. McNamara, Louisiana state representative 1978 – Michele Bachmann, later U.S. representative from Minnesota (2007–2015) 1978 – Thomas Bliley, mayor of Richmond, Virginia, and later U.S. representative from Virginia (1981–2001) 1978 – Robert G. Jones, Louisiana state senator 1978 – Chris Smith, later U.S. representative from New Jersey (1981–present) 1979 – Clay Ford, former Arkansas state representative and later a Florida state representative 1979 – Armistead I. Selden Jr., former U.S. representative from Alabama (1953–1969) and United States ambassador to New Zealand (1974–1979)

1980–1989 1980s – Mike Pence, future U.S. representative for Indiana (2001–2013), governor of Indiana (2013–2017) and vice president of the United States (2017–2021)Mike Pence explains how Ronald Reagan made him a Republican 1980 – Mac Collins, later U.S. representative from Georgia (1993–2005) 1980 – Jim Donelon, later Louisiana insurance commissioner (2006–2024) 1980 – Jesse Monroe Knowles, Louisiana state senator 1980 – John Otho Marsh Jr., former U.S. representative from Virginia (1963–1971), and future U.S. secretary of the Army (1981–1989) 1980 – Frank D. White, later governor of Arkansas (1981–1983) 1980 – Sam Yorty, former U.S. representative for California (1951–1955) and mayor of Los Angeles, California (1961–1973) 1981 – Eugene Atkinson, while U.S. representative from Pennsylvania (1979–1983)Maverick Democratic Rep. Eugene Atkinson of Pennsylvania – who... 1981 – Larry Kudlow, later director of the National Economic Council (2018–2021) 1981 – Pete von Reichbauer, Washington state senator 1981 – Bob Stump, while U.S. representative from Arizona (1977–2003) 1982 – Condoleezza Rice, later United States national security advisor (2001–2005) and United States secretary of state (2005–2009) 1982 – Franklin Sutton, Georgia state senator 1982 – Joseph P. Wyatt Jr., former U.S. representative from Texas (1979–1981) 1983 – Phil Gramm, while U.S. representative from Texas (1979–1985) and later U.S. senator from Texas (1985–2002) 1983 – Bob Martinez, while mayor of Tampa, Florida, later governor of Florida (1987–1991) and director of the National Drug Control Policy (1991–1993) 1983 – Edward D.L.G. Pangelinan, while resident representative from the Northern Mariana Islands (1978–1984) 1984 – V.J. Bella, Louisiana state representative