California state senator leaves Democratic Party, says not elected to serve 'political ideology'

Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, a California state senator first elected in 2022, is leaving the Democratic Party for the Republican Party, the lawmaker announced on Thursday.

Alvarado-Gil represents California’s fourth Senate district.

“I was elected to serve the public, not a political ideology,” she said in a statement. “The status quo under a supermajority Democratic rule in the legislature is simply not working for this state.”

Alvarado-Gil told Sacramento Bee editorial board member Marcos Breton she left the party because lawmakers tried to stop reform to Proposition 47, which downgraded certain property crimes to lower-level misdemeanor offenses. Those crimes included shoplifting, writing invalid checks and forgery.

"A law-and-order package of bills, including from Alvarado-Gil, were hijacked and loaded with amendments — ‘poison pills’ — that would have killed the bills if voters passed a Prop. 47 reform initiative in November," Breton wrote.