Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell announces that he's switching from Democrat to Republican
A Nebraska state senator announced Wednesday that he's changing his political party affiliation.
Sen. Mike McDonnell, formerly registered Democrat, is switching to the Republican Party.
He's identified as being against abortion since he registered as a Democrat in 1984. Now, McDonnell says the Democratic Party is "punishing" him for his stance.
"I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious-based pro-life position. Instead, over the last year, they have decided to punish me for being pro-life," McDonnell said. "The Douglas County Democrats voted not to seat me as a delegate and not to share party resources with me because I am pro-life."
Previous coverage: Nebraska Democratic Party votes to censure Omaha Sen. Mike McDonnell over his voting record
McDonnell also said the state Democrats voted to censure him because of his views on abortion.
Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb reacted to McDonnell's party change in a statement.
"The Nebraska Democratic Party will continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community. Our decision to censure Sen. McDonnell was never about him being a pro-life Catholic. Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions. We respect the ongoing work of Senator McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state," Kleeb said.
The senator represents District 5 in the Nebraska Legislature, which covers part of midtown Omaha. He was elected in 2016, reelected in 2020, and is term-limited.