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Democratic State Sen. Jimmy Holley (of Elba) has confirmed to Republican party officials (and is telling Democratic colleagues) that he will switch parties and become a Republican, a solid source close to the situation tells the Political Parlor. This means that there will be 22 Democratic Senators and 13 Republican Senators after the announcement is made. State GOP Communication Director Philip Bryan told the Parlor, “[State Party chair] Rep. Mike Hubbard has been talking to several Democrats, so we can not confirm that rumor.”
Holley has been one of the so-called dissident Democrats to caucus with the Senate Republicans. The minority coalition caucus of Republicans and dissident Democrats has 15 members, and that number will remain unchanged. The Democratic majority caucus has 20 members, still one vote shy of the 21 votes necessary for a “filibuster-proof” majority. (This count includes Sen. Larry Means of Attalla in the Democratic majority caucus. He had caucused with the Republicans last session, but he is said to be back with the Democratic majority, though I have seen no official announcement.) The other two Democrats who caucus with the GOP are Jim Preuitt (Talladega) and Tom Butler (Madison).
Holley’s district is solidly Republican. A Senate insider wondered to the Parlor in August if Holley might never come back into the Democratic fold, since Holley could easily win his district as a Republican.
It’s always a coup when someone switches teams, so we can naturally expect the GOP to make much of this. Functionally, the change will do little to affect the operation of the Senate.
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Nice scoop Danny, if it does indeed come to pass.
Thank you for that.
(And it’s solid.)
This is pretty huge. Don’t try to minimize it.
:)
If you are speaking of the post, anonymous in #3, I called the switch a coup. Hardly minimizing it.
I think this will do a lot to affect the operation of the Senate. Barron & Bedford have spent a lot of time trying to win over some “dissidents.” They got back McClain, but a switch by Holley basically drives a stake through the heart of their efforts. None of the other “dissidents” will go back now.
Good for holley. maybe now he will stop bad mouthing republicans…
It is hardly a surprise that he has switched. In the last election Bedford, Little, Barron and Sanders funded a smear campaign against him. If the leaders of your party do something like that to you, it’s time to find a new party.
Anonymous in 5, I guess we will have to disagree on this one. This is a big win for the GOP (or as I said, “a coup”), but I do not see how this changes how the Senate functions.
It does not change the # of votes in the caucuses. I think you’d have a difficult time showing how, because of this switch, any legislation is brought up, passed, defeated, promoted, or blocked in some different fashion than it would have otherwise without the switch (though I’m glad to be shown otherwise).
As to your point about the other dissidents, I don’t see this having a great effect on them. Two Senate insiders have already speculated on this blog months ago (here and here) that Holley would not go back to the Dems, so I don’t see that he has figured heavily in Dems’ efforts (or calculations) for a while.
There are only two Dems left in the minority caucus (assuming the stories are correct that Means is back with the Democratic majority), so I can imagine that if the remaining two were leaning toward a change (either switching to Republican or re-joining the Dem caucus) then they might decide to go ahead and move in the direction they were already leaning. But I don’t know that. Just thinking aloud…
Danny I dont know about Butler. Ive had two different people up here who are active in the Morgan and Limestone political scene tell me in the past few months that the only reason he’s in the GOP caucus is because he can’t stand the way Lowell and Roger runs the senate.
[...] BREAKING: Dem Senator Switches Parties » Doc’s Political Parlor Posted Alabama Politics on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007. [...]
I hear 1 and possibly 2 more Senate Dems will be switching parties soon.
This changes nothing. Good riddance.
[...] I am glad for The Huntsville Times and Associated Press to inform their readers today that state Sen. Jimmy Holley (D – Elba) is switching to the Republican Party, but would it kill them to say that it was first reported in the Political Parlor (two weeks ago)? [...]
[...] Last night, Sen. Jimmy Holley (of Elba) officially announced a change of his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican (a story that the Political Parlor broke three weeks ago). [...]