See Also
See Again
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Ronald Reagan (USA)
- Ronald Regan was originally an actor and later became a politician. He later served as the 40th President of The United States from 1981 to 1989 alongside his running mate, Geroge Bush.
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Ronald Reagan (USA)
- Ronald Regan was originally a Democrat and New Deal supporter. However, in 1962 he switched parties and told the world that, he "didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left" him. He officially registered as a Republican after that.
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Emmanuel Macron (France)
- Emmanuel Macron was born in December 1977 and is a French politician. He has been serving as the 25th president of France since 2017.
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Emmanuel Macron (France)
- Emmanuel Macron switched affiliations during his career. In the beginning, he was a member of the Socialist Party in France. Then in 2016, he left the Socialist Party to found his own centrist political movement called En Marche! It was later renamed La République En Marche!
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Elizabeth Warren (USA)
- American politician and former law professor, Elizabeth Ann Warren is the senior US Senator from Massachusetts who has been serving since 2013. In 2020 she was a candidate in the Democratic party presidential primaries and finished third.
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Elizabeth Warren (USA)
- Warren started out as a Republican, but after she saw banks destroying families through bankruptcy, she switched from Republican to Democrat.
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Michael Bloomberg (USA)
- Michael Bloomberg is an American businessman and politician. Today, he is one of the richest people in the world as the founder of Bloomberg, LP—a tech and data company.
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Michael Bloomberg (USA)
- Michael Bloomberg has switched political parties several times. He identified as a Democrat until 2001 when he switched to the Republican party until 2007. Then from 2007 to 2018, he left the Republican party to become an independent.
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John Tyler (USA)
- John Tyler was born in 1790 in Virginia and became the first vice president of the United States to become preisdent due to the death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison.
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John Tyler (USA)
- John Tyler's party, the Whigs, disowned him and kicked him out of the party while he served as president. Instead of joining another party, he remained an independent and refused to align with any party.
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Hannibal Hamlin (USA)
- Born in Paris Hill, Maine, on August 27, 1809, Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th vice president of the USA alongside Abraham Lincoln who was president at the time. Before his vice presidency, he served in the US House of Representatives in 1842 and the Senate in 1848.
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Hannibal Hamlin (USA)
- Disliking the Democratic Party’s position on slavery, Hamlin switched his political allegiance and became a Republican in 1856. He then won the 1856 Republican gubernatorial nomination for governor, but only three weeks after being sworn in, he resigned.
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Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
- in 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated and Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States of America.
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Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
- Roosevelt served almost two full terms as president as a progressive Republican. In 1912, Teddy left the Republican convention and formed his own party known as the Progressive or the Bull Moose Party.
© Getty Images
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Winston Churchill (UK)
- Winston Churchill was a leader who guided Britain to victory in the Second World War. He was the Conservative prime minister twice and also won a Nobel Prize for literature.
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Winston Churchill (UK)
- Winston Churchill switched parties twice in his career! First, he left the Conservatives (Tories) to be with the Liberals in 1904. Years later in 1925, he rejoined the Conservatives.
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Wendell Willkie (USA)
- Wendell Willkie was born in Indiana in February of 1892. In 1940 he tried to unseat former president Franklin D. Roosevelt but was unsuccessful.
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Wendell Willkie (USA)
- In the early 1930s, Wendell Willkie had been a Democrat. However, a few years later, he turned Republican because of what he felt to be unwise government restraints on business enterprise.
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Strom Thurmond (USA)
- American politician Strom Thurmond was a proponent of states' rights and a segregation advocate. He ran for president in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket but was unsuccessful.
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Strom Thurmond (USA)
- Strom Thurmond switched to the Republican Party during the Civil Rights movement since many Democrats sided with the Johnson administration.
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Elizabeth Dole (USA)
- Elizabeth Dole was born in 1936 in North Carolina. Throughout her career, Elizabeth strived to empower women and minorities to achieve their full potential. She is an American attorney, author, and politician who served as a US Senator.
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Elizabeth Dole (USA)
- In the 1960s, Dole was a Democrat in the Johnson administration. However, in 1975 she switched parties before her husband, Bob Dole, joined Gerald Ford on the 1976 GOP presidential ticket.
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Hillary Clinton (USA)
- Hillary Rodham Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1947. She later married Bill Clinton who served as the 42nd President of the United States.
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Hillary Clinton (USA)
- Early in her life, Hillary Clinton identified as a Republican. However, she later became a Democrat and went on to serve as First Lady of the United States during Bill Clinton's presidency, then as a U.S. Senator from New York, followed by her role as Secretary of State, and ultimately as the Democratic nominee for President in 2016.
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Leon Panetta (USA)
- Leon Panetta was the 23rd US Secretary of Defense from July 2011 to February 2013. Before this time he served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from February 2009 to June 2011.
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Leon Panetta (USA)
- Panetta was originally a Republican and briefly worked with the Nixon administration. However, in 1971 he switched parties due to concerns about the civil rights policies of the Nixon administration. Sources: (Britannica) (Constitution Center) (Newsweek) (The White House) (National Governors Association) (Politico) See also: US presidents without college degrees
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© Getty Images
0 / 27 Fotos
Ronald Reagan (USA)
- Ronald Regan was originally an actor and later became a politician. He later served as the 40th President of The United States from 1981 to 1989 alongside his running mate, Geroge Bush.
© Getty Images
1 / 27 Fotos
Ronald Reagan (USA)
- Ronald Regan was originally a Democrat and New Deal supporter. However, in 1962 he switched parties and told the world that, he "didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left" him. He officially registered as a Republican after that.
© Getty Images
2 / 27 Fotos
Emmanuel Macron (France)
- Emmanuel Macron was born in December 1977 and is a French politician. He has been serving as the 25th president of France since 2017.
© Getty Images
3 / 27 Fotos
Emmanuel Macron (France)
- Emmanuel Macron switched affiliations during his career. In the beginning, he was a member of the Socialist Party in France. Then in 2016, he left the Socialist Party to found his own centrist political movement called En Marche! It was later renamed La République En Marche!
© Getty Images
4 / 27 Fotos
Elizabeth Warren (USA)
- American politician and former law professor, Elizabeth Ann Warren is the senior US Senator from Massachusetts who has been serving since 2013. In 2020 she was a candidate in the Democratic party presidential primaries and finished third.
© Getty Images
5 / 27 Fotos
Elizabeth Warren (USA)
- Warren started out as a Republican, but after she saw banks destroying families through bankruptcy, she switched from Republican to Democrat.
© Getty Images
6 / 27 Fotos
Michael Bloomberg (USA)
- Michael Bloomberg is an American businessman and politician. Today, he is one of the richest people in the world as the founder of Bloomberg, LP—a tech and data company.
© Getty Images
7 / 27 Fotos
Michael Bloomberg (USA)
- Michael Bloomberg has switched political parties several times. He identified as a Democrat until 2001 when he switched to the Republican party until 2007. Then from 2007 to 2018, he left the Republican party to become an independent.
© Getty Images
8 / 27 Fotos
John Tyler (USA)
- John Tyler was born in 1790 in Virginia and became the first vice president of the United States to become preisdent due to the death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison.
© Getty Images
9 / 27 Fotos
John Tyler (USA)
- John Tyler's party, the Whigs, disowned him and kicked him out of the party while he served as president. Instead of joining another party, he remained an independent and refused to align with any party.
© Getty Images
10 / 27 Fotos
Hannibal Hamlin (USA)
- Born in Paris Hill, Maine, on August 27, 1809, Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th vice president of the USA alongside Abraham Lincoln who was president at the time. Before his vice presidency, he served in the US House of Representatives in 1842 and the Senate in 1848.
© Getty Images
11 / 27 Fotos
Hannibal Hamlin (USA)
- Disliking the Democratic Party’s position on slavery, Hamlin switched his political allegiance and became a Republican in 1856. He then won the 1856 Republican gubernatorial nomination for governor, but only three weeks after being sworn in, he resigned.
© Getty Images
12 / 27 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
- in 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated and Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States of America.
© Getty Images
13 / 27 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
- Roosevelt served almost two full terms as president as a progressive Republican. In 1912, Teddy left the Republican convention and formed his own party known as the Progressive or the Bull Moose Party.
© Getty Images
14 / 27 Fotos
Winston Churchill (UK)
- Winston Churchill was a leader who guided Britain to victory in the Second World War. He was the Conservative prime minister twice and also won a Nobel Prize for literature.
© Getty Images
15 / 27 Fotos
Winston Churchill (UK)
- Winston Churchill switched parties twice in his career! First, he left the Conservatives (Tories) to be with the Liberals in 1904. Years later in 1925, he rejoined the Conservatives.
© Getty Images
16 / 27 Fotos
Wendell Willkie (USA)
- Wendell Willkie was born in Indiana in February of 1892. In 1940 he tried to unseat former president Franklin D. Roosevelt but was unsuccessful.
© Getty Images
17 / 27 Fotos
Wendell Willkie (USA)
- In the early 1930s, Wendell Willkie had been a Democrat. However, a few years later, he turned Republican because of what he felt to be unwise government restraints on business enterprise.
© Getty Images
18 / 27 Fotos
Strom Thurmond (USA)
- American politician Strom Thurmond was a proponent of states' rights and a segregation advocate. He ran for president in 1948 on the Dixiecrat ticket but was unsuccessful.
© Getty Images
19 / 27 Fotos
Strom Thurmond (USA)
- Strom Thurmond switched to the Republican Party during the Civil Rights movement since many Democrats sided with the Johnson administration.
© Getty Images
20 / 27 Fotos
Elizabeth Dole (USA)
- Elizabeth Dole was born in 1936 in North Carolina. Throughout her career, Elizabeth strived to empower women and minorities to achieve their full potential. She is an American attorney, author, and politician who served as a US Senator.
© Getty Images
21 / 27 Fotos
Elizabeth Dole (USA)
- In the 1960s, Dole was a Democrat in the Johnson administration. However, in 1975 she switched parties before her husband, Bob Dole, joined Gerald Ford on the 1976 GOP presidential ticket.
© Getty Images
22 / 27 Fotos
Hillary Clinton (USA)
- Hillary Rodham Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1947. She later married Bill Clinton who served as the 42nd President of the United States.
© Getty Images
23 / 27 Fotos
Hillary Clinton (USA)
- Early in her life, Hillary Clinton identified as a Republican. However, she later became a Democrat and went on to serve as First Lady of the United States during Bill Clinton's presidency, then as a U.S. Senator from New York, followed by her role as Secretary of State, and ultimately as the Democratic nominee for President in 2016.
© Getty Images
24 / 27 Fotos
Leon Panetta (USA)
- Leon Panetta was the 23rd US Secretary of Defense from July 2011 to February 2013. Before this time he served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from February 2009 to June 2011.
© Getty Images
25 / 27 Fotos
Leon Panetta (USA)
- Panetta was originally a Republican and briefly worked with the Nixon administration. However, in 1971 he switched parties due to concerns about the civil rights policies of the Nixon administration. Sources: (Britannica) (Constitution Center) (Newsweek) (The White House) (National Governors Association) (Politico) See also: US presidents without college degrees
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Political party switchers throughout history
Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard joins Republican party
© Getty Images
On October 22, former long-time Democrat Tulsi Gabbard announced that she was joining the Republican party and endorsing Trump for president at a rally in North Carolina. Gabbard represented Hawaii's Second District as a Democrat in Congress from 2013 until 2021, and served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 to 2016. At this time, she resigned to support democratic socialist Bernie Sanders in his bid for the presidency. She later ran for president as a Democratic candidate unsuccessfully in 2020. In 2022, Gabbard left the Democratic party to become an independent, and now, she's throwing her hat in the ring with the Republicans.
"I'm proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I'm joining the Republican Party. I am joining the party of the people," said Gabbard at the rally on Tuesday. "The party of equality. The party that was founded to fight against and end slavery in this country. It is the party of common sense and the party that is led by a president who has the courage and strength to fight for peace."
Throughout history, political party switchers have played an important role in shaping the political landscape, often signaling shifts in ideology and public sentiment. Figures like Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill exemplify how these changes can reflect broader societal shifts. Some switches have sparked controversy, challenging party loyalties and prompting debates about political identity. This gallery explores the stories and impact of notable figures who have changed their party affiliations.
Curious which officials you know? Click through now.
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