Full List of Democratic Leaders Who've Left the Party Since 2024 Election

With news of Karine Jean-Pierre's departure from the Democratic Party making waves, the former White House press secretary joins a growing list of high-profile Democrats distancing themselves from the party in the wake of the 2024 election.

Newsweek has reached out to several political scientists and historians for comment via email on Thursday.

Why It Matters

Last November marked a pivotal election in the United States, with Donald Trump returning to the White House after winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The scale of the Republican Party's triumph in November—taking the White House, flipping the Senate, and maintaining control of the House—has sparked widespread soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong and how to rebuild.

Democratic leaders have come under criticism from within, some for pushing the party too far left, and others for appearing too conciliatory toward Trump, and a number who have felt disillusioned with its agenda have left the party entirely to either identify as independent or as a Republican.

Democrats Who've Left The Party

Jean-Pierre, once a staunch defender of the Democratic Party and then-President Joe Biden, announced she has left the party to become an independent. The move coincides with the upcoming release of her book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, which is set for release in the fall.

Others have already left the Democratic party, including a number of state-level lawmakers.

Kentucky State Senator Robin Webb

While some Democrats have switched to become independent, Webb flipped parties, now identifying as a Republican, which is relatively rare in American politics. She was the last Democrat representing Eastern Kentucky in the state Senate.

"While it's cliché, it's true: I didn't leave the party—the party left me," Webb said in the statement. "The Kentucky Democratic Party has increasingly alienated lifelong rural Democrats like myself by failing to support the issues that matter most to rural Kentuckians."

She wrote that she no longer felt the party represented her values amid a "lurch to the left" and a "hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development" in the region, which is known for its coal industry.

Florida State Representative Hillary Cassel

In December, Cassel framed her decision to become a Republican around several key themes. She emphasized her roles as both a mother and a Jewish woman, expressing desire to "build a world where our children are judged on their character and their actions not their labels."

Cassel specifically cited growing concerns about the Democratic Party's stance on Israel, pointing to what she described as its "failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism." She also highlighted frustration with the party's ability to "relate to everyday Floridians."

Florida State Representative Susan Valdés

Nearly a month after the November election, Valdés announced her decision to flip from being a Democrat to a Republican. In her statement noting her departure, she noted that she prefers to follow the agenda that Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez has laid out, which she says focuses on "empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities."

She added that she is "tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress."

Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo

In April, Pizzo, who was then the Senate Minority leader, said on the floor of the Florida Senate that the "Democratic Party in Florida" was "dead," criticizing modern partisanship as "a mess" and calling for practical leadership over politics.

"Stripping myself of the title of a party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent," he said, a nod to his rumored 2026 gubernatorial ambitions. He is currently nonaffiliated.

Democratic National Committee fundraiser Lindy Li

"It's like leaving a cult," Li said in December, explaining that she was ostracized for questioning then-Vice President Kamala Harris's political ambitions and Biden's leadership abilities.

Li was part of the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) finance committee and has been critical of her party since Harris' election loss, calling it a "$1 billion disaster."

Even ahead of the 2024 election, some Democrats have signaled frustration and disillusionment with the party, with Senator Joe Manchin notably leaving the party to identify as an independent. Others, like State Representative Shawn Thierry, switched parties after losing her Democratic primary.

However, on the flip side, this week, former Republican Congressman David Jolly announced his Florida gubernatorial run as a Democrat.

What People Are Saying

Professor Michael Kazin, an expert on U.S. politics and social movements in Georgetown University's history department, told Newsweek in an email Thursday: "In the past, politicians switched parties either when they felt their old party no longer represented their views (examples include Charlie Crist in FL, Wayne Morse in Oregon, and Ronald Reagan) or when they thought they had a better chance to win a primary or general election as the candidate of the other party...The partisan battle-lines are pretty rigid, and it's become perilous for a politician to cross them."

U.S. Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, on X, formerly Twitter: "Congratulations to my dear friend Sen Robin Webb for switching parties. Like so many good honest people with common sense who work hard and pay taxes, the Democrat party has abandoned them. Robin will make an excellent addition to our great Kentucky State Senate Majority!"

Then-president-elect Donald Trump said on Truth Social in December: "Congratulations to Hillary Cassel for becoming the second State Representative from the Great State of Florida to switch her Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, once more expanding the GOP Supermajority in the State House! I would further like to invite other Disillusioned Democrats to switch Parties, and join us on this noble quest to Save our Country and, Make America Great Again - GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. THANK YOU HILLARY!"

What Happens Next

Some of the former Democrat lawmakers who have changed their party affiliations are up for reelection in 2026.