Fox News Liberal Harold Ford Praises Ex-Dem Lawmaker For Switching to GOP: ‘I Salute Her’
Fox News Democratic pundit Harold Ford Jr. heaped praise on Georgia state Rep. Mesha Mainor, who announced this week she left the Democratic Party to become a Republican.
Mainor was elected as a Democrat by her constituents in the 56th district in Atlanta, which votes heavily Democratic. In fact, Republicans did not bother nominating a candidate in the district in the last election.
She claimed her former party “relentlessly tried to sabotage every single thing that I have done for District 56” and “publicly slandered me in every way imaginable.”
She has clashed with Democrats on issues such as crime, school vouchers, and immigration.
Co-hosts of The Five on Fox News discussed the development on Wednesday.
“She has some very strong feelings,” Jeanine Pirro said. “I mean, do you see yourself in that same party where you have those same feelings of putting community ahead of unions, making sure the communities are safe as opposed to defunding police?”
“First of all, I salute this young woman for doing what I think every public servant should do,” Ford began. “You serve your constituents and serve your conscience. And that may require you to leave your party at times, to vote against your party at times. She should be no more penalized for supporting ways, thinking more creatively and innovatively about how we educate kids that have been left behind than a Republican that votes for commonsense gun safety laws.”
Ford did not address how switching party affiliation to the GOP, which is deeply unpopular in Mainor’s district, serves her constituents, who elected her with the understanding she would vote as a Democrat.
“You should be allowed to vote for what you want to vote for and not have your party trash you,” he continued. “She took the step, the extraordinary to step to say, ‘You know what? I no longer want to be a Democrat.’ Voters in the district will have an opportunity to weigh in here. But I don’t like litmus tests.”
Ford added:
And she’s standing up for students, for kids in her district, for families who want safer neighborhoods. And if you read that whole statement, she obviously has a point of difference with Democrats on immigration as well.
So, I salute her. And, uh, salute her for standing up for what she believes in, for serving her constituents, her conscience, and we’ll see where this takes her in terms of an election.
Watch above via Fox News.
