Georgia State representative Mesha Mainor, a Democrat, announced she was leaving the party on Tuesday.
Mainor has represented District 56, which covers a heavy Democrat voter base near Atlanta, since January 2021. Mainor ran unopposed by a Republican challenger in the 2020 and 2022 Democratic Primary elections in the state.
The Georgia State representative will switch party preference and caucus with Republicans, shifting the Republican-Democrat balance in the Georgia State House 102-78.
"Today I made the decision to leave the Democrat Party," Mainor wrote. "I represent a blue district in the city of Atlanta so this wasn’t a political decision for me. It was a a [sic] MORAL one."
"I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own."
"When I decided to stand up on behalf of disadvantaged children in support of school choice, my Democrat colleagues didn’t stand by me," Mainor said of her decision to leave her party in a statement to Fox News Digital. "They crucified me. When I decided to stand up in support of safe communities and refused to support efforts to defund the police, they didn’t back me. They abandoned me."
"For far too long, the Democrat Party has gotten away with using and abusing the black community," she added. "For decades, the Democrat Party has received the support of more than 90% of the black community. And what do we have to show for it?"
Mainor will continue working across party lines after leaving the Democratic party, saying she "never hesitated to work across the aisle to deliver results for [her] community and the people [she] was elected to represent."
"I was elected to represent. And that won't change,” she said.
The Georgia State representative said she has felt encouragement regarding her decision and felt humbled being embraced "for the first time in a long time" as a free-thinking black woman willing to go against party lines.
"The most dangerous thing to the Democrat Party is a black person with a mind of their own," Mainor said, adding she wouldn't be surprised to face pushback from Democrats over her decision to leave the party.
"Education and the importance of school choice has been – and will continue to be – a key focus of mine," she said. "But outside of education, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Georgia General Assembly to tackle the most pressing issues facing our state and to help grow the Republican Party, helping us focus not just on preaching to the choir but growing the congregation."
In May, Mainor shared a video criticizing Georgia Democratic lawmakers.
"I will never hesitate to vote for the best interest of the communities I represent over party politics," she said adding she supported school choice, parental rights, and opportunities for children to thrive. "Especially those that are marginalized and attend a failing school."
She continued hitting back at her party for supporting teacher's unions over policies beneficial to children.
Mainor said she voted “yes” for parents and “yes” for children, noting schools within her district maintained a 3% reading efficiency.
"I have a few colleagues upset with me," she said, claiming fellow Democrats were proposing $1,000 payments to anyone willing to primary the state representative. "I'm not apologizing because my colleagues don't like how I vote."
"My community loves the fact that someone is finally sticking up for them and holding these systems accountable."
