Obama's Hard Left Agenda in DC pushes them over

From Eric Dondero:

Cherokee County is located deep in the heart of East Texas. It is a County full of a rich history, from the original Texas pioneers to America's Civil War. The population is roughly 46,000. The County seat is Jacksonville, but also includes the towns of Rusk and Gallatin, and is considered suburban Tyler.

The County is part of a growing trend of rural southern Democrats who have ties to that Party dating back to the Civil War, bolting to the Republican Party.

From the Jacksonville Daily Progress, Jan. 6:

Five Cherokee County politicians have changed parties in the last 60 days.

And all five are incumbents seeking to once again win their government positions.

From the local state representative to county-level seats, they have left behind the Obama-led Democrats and joined the Republican side of the aisle.

“It’s never happened in Cherokee County,” said Cherokee County Republican Chair Josie Schoolcraft. She said in her 12 years of involvement in county politics, there has never been such a high number of political party defectors.

“I attribute it to what’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” Schoolcraft said of the exodus of Dems to the GOP. “East Texas has always been conservative. From what they (the people who switched parties) tell me, the Democratic Party went off and left them because of their liberal agenda. The Democratic Party isn’t a conservative party at all anymore.”

Texas Democrats... "a series of setbacks..."

Some of the Switchers cited Property Rights, Gun Control, Death Penalty and Illegal Immigration as some of the reasons for their Switch.

One of the Switchers, Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Brenda Dominy, specifically mentioned Obama as the cause of her leaving the Democrats.

She sais President Barack Obama's leadership does cause her concern, also.

“I don’t agree with a lot of the Democrats’ views and takes on things,” she said. “I might be more conservative than I thought, but the agenda the Democrats have, I find I’m not in agreement with..." she said.

Also switching a County Commissioner, and the County Surveyor.

Concludes assistant editor Lauren LaFleur:

Although Texas Democrats have been trying to work their way back into statewide political contention for a decade (Republicans have held all statewide offices since 1999 and both chambers of the Legislature since 2003), the party has suffered a series of setbacks to their strong position on the national front.