In a sign that things are getting a bit too crazy in today’s Republican Party, a GOP elected official in Oregon has announced that he is switching parties.
State Rep. Cyrus Javadi, a state lawmaker in Oregon, has announced that he is leaving the Republican Party and becoming a Democrat.
In a statement to Newsweek, Rep. Javadi said that he “switched because the Republican Party abandoned the principles that drew me to it in the first place: limited government, fiscal responsibility, free speech, free trade, and, above all, the rule of law.”
Javadi’s switch helps the Democrats increase their majority in the Oregon state house, where they now hold 37 out of 60 seats.
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The lawmaker had first announced the move in a Substack post on September 5.
Sounds like a Democrat just realizing he’s a Democrat LOL…The guy supported tax increases, including a health care provider tax tied to federal Medicaid funding.https://t.co/zR8JhkDUQj
— Jacob Lane (@JacobLaneUSA) September 9, 2025
“Before the conspiracy mills start cranking: no, it’s not because I lost a primary. No, it’s not because I binge-watched Rachel Maddow and saw the light. And no, I haven’t forgotten who I am, who I serve, or the values that got me here,” he wrote. What’s changed isn’t me. It’s the party I once called home.
Much of Javadi’s complaints about his former party seems to be related to state concerns.
An Oregon lawmaker, Rep. Cyrus Javadi of Tillamook, says he’s leaving the Republican Party and becoming a Democrat. Tonight, we’re asking him what brought him here.
Watch the full report tonight on #TheStoryKGW at 6:30 p.m. (https://t.co/Guca2ZupNt) pic.twitter.com/knLscga2dn
— KGW News (@KGWNews) September 9, 2025
“Every priority for Oregon’s North Coast, nearly every single one, ran into opposition from my own party. Protecting Medicaid benefits for the nearly 60% of children in Tillamook and Clatsop counties? Opposed. Keeping rural hospitals afloat? Opposed. Preserving students’ access to books that reflect who they are? Opposed. Protecting the First Amendment rights of people different from ourselves? Opposed,” he wrote in the Substack post. “Not because the policies were flawed. But because helping me deliver for my district didn’t fit the Republican Party’s agenda.”
Democrats welcomed him to his new party:
This was not on my bingo card, but Welcome Representative Cyrus Javadi to the House Democrats! This move now sets 37 seats for House Democrats and 23 seats for House Republicans. I asked what this means in sports terms for folks who are not politico aficionados. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/McK9zm8AE9
— Ricki Ruiz (@RickiRuizOR) September 5, 2025
Photo courtesy of Rep. Cyrus Javadi’s official photo.
