Dems "picked up" another Senate seat

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Republican Kansas state Sen. Barbara Bollier joins Democratic Party


As a Republican, Kansas state Sen. Barbara Bollier was often at odds with her party on a number of issues, particularly LGBTQ rights.

So, she made her break and joined the Democrats after 43 years as a registered Republican and 10 years as a GOP lawmaker, KCTV reported. She told the Shawnee Mission Post that the change was spurred by "frustrations that have been ongoing for nine years."

Bollier represents the increasingly Democratic Kansas City suburb of Mission Hills. She is a fiscal conservative but also is pro-choice, favors Medicaid expansion and supports gay rights.

She told the Kansas City Star that the "final, last straw" for her came when state Republicans adopted a platform in June that declared, "We believe God created two genders, male and female."

Bollier also cited President Donald Trump's administration as another reason for her switch.

"I cannot be complicit in supporting that," she told Star, referring to Trump's policies. "I can’t call it leadership. I don’t even know what to call him. He is our president, but he is not representing my value system remotely."

In July, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle stripped Bollier of her committee positions after she endorsed Democratic Gov.-elect Laura Kelly’s campaign against Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

"Senator Bollier has a voting record more liberal than some Democrats, so it’s no shock she joined the party of Nancy Pelosi," Wagle said on Twitter Wednesday in response to Bollier's defection. "The only surprise is that she didn’t end her facade of being a Republican sooner."

Johnson County Republican Party Chair Dave Myres was "not shocked" by the news.

"After her recent endorsements of Democrats in both the primary and general elections, as well as a voting record more liberal than many Democrats, we applaud her for her honesty," Myres told the Shawnee Mission Post.

Bollier is up for re-election in 2020 and she said she intends to run that year – as a Democrat.

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