AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City is switching parties. The longtime Texas Democrat announced his decision Monday at a news conference in Floresville where he was joined by Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont. Guillen’s switch comes as Republicans press to make inroads in South Texas and after redistricting made his district more favorable to Republicans.
“Friends, something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C. are not our values, not the values of most Texans,” Guillen said. "The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas."
Guillen was first elected to the State House in 2002. His 31st district is anchored in the Rio Grande Valley and extends to outside San Antonio. Donald Trump won the district by 13 percentage points in 2020, while Guillen, as a Democrat, won reelection by 17 points last year. Republicans are trying to gain strength in the south after President Joe Biden’s underperformance there.
Guillen’s party switch does not come as a total surprise. He was one of seven House Democrats who voted earlier this year to allow the permitless carry of handguns. He also did not go to Washington, D.C. during Democrats’ quorum break in protest of the GOP’s priority elections bill.