GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott says he’s coming to Dallas on Tuesday to personally welcome Mayor Eric Johnson into the Republican party.
Scott is a South Carolina senator and announced in May that he was seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024. Both he and Johnson are Black.
“The Republican Party is the Grand Opportunity Party,” said Scott in a statement. “Common sense values — lower taxes, safer communities, and empowered parents and families are what we are about. These are American values, and we are happy to have Mayor Johnson.”
Johnson announced Sept. 22 that he was planning to switch party affiliations from Democrat to Republican, citing his disillusionment with the liberal party and feeling his ideals and goals for the city are more in line with the GOP.
Dallas’ mayor and City Council positions are nonpartisan.
The announcement has led the head of the Dallas County Democratic Party to demand Johnson resign. The mayor said in his announcement last month and in an interview with a local radio show last Thursday that he plans to serve out the rest of his term, which ends in 2027.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
