r/VoteDEM • u/OverlordLork MA-07 • 3d ago

Oregon state Rep. Cyrus Javadi switches political teams, registers as a Democrat

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/05/oregon-state-representative-cyrus-javadi-switches-parties-now-democrat/
870 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

431

u/TOSkwar Virginia 3d ago

Most damningly for many in the GOP, Javadi was the only Republican to cross the aisle earlier this week to vote in favor of Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s package of tax and fee hikes to fund road maintenance. The vote was decisive: Without Javadi’s yes, the bill would have died.

Apparently he's already been voting with us for a bit, including this one.

78

u/irishamerican1676 NJ-1 3d ago

How did it almost die? The Oregon legislature before his switch was still decisively Dem? I know state politics are weird but for like 10 or so Dems to vote against a Dem bill and still have a Republican vote for it seems like such a weird scenario

84

u/TOSkwar Virginia 3d ago edited 3d ago

1.) It's a tax increase. Unpopular by default because people hate taxes even when not getting taxed would cost them 10x as much and/or lead to deaths.

2.) The special session apparently requires 3/5 of the maximum possible (that's 36/60) to pass the tax increase. This is best I can tell from other statements from this news site.

3.) Dems hold 37. That's 2 nos/absents, not 10.

28

u/Shades101 Oregon 3d ago

Tax increases need a 3/5 supermajority to pass the legislature in Oregon. Dems currently hold exactly that number (well, supermajority+1 now in the House).

7

u/Deliximus 3d ago

I'm thinking the same. Oregon currently has the Dems up 14 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate.

7

u/SpukiKitty2 Tennessee 3d ago

Woo-hoo! Welcome to the Light Side of the Force!

134

u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee 3d ago

Honestly it's pretty rare when you see the members of the GOP eventually end up switching sides

65

u/OverlordLork MA-07 3d ago

Happened a few times during the first Trump admin, as some classic conservatives became horrified of what became of their party. It was pretty rare after that, though.

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u/JRummy91 3d ago

Didn’t a Republican Lt Gov of Georgia just switch parties as well?

13

u/Im_Chad_AMA 3d ago

That guy doesn't seem to be in office anymore though. It seems like the Republicans that go against Trump are the ones that have nothing to lose anymore, because they are retired or not running for re-election. They are pretty fuckin spineless.

5

u/JRummy91 2d ago

I believe he’s either considering, or is now actively, running for Governor of GA as a Democrat.

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u/ProudPatriot07 South Carolina- Rural Young Democrat 3d ago

It's nice to see a GOP switching to our side for once (sadly anytime we have one switch in my state they go from Dem to GOP). 

31

u/Meanteenbirder New York 3d ago

For those curious, this district is in the northwest corner of Oregon. Biden won it in 2020 51-46, and Harris won it by a similar margin (maybe a point less). He flipped it red in 2022 by a few points and Javadi won by 5 in 2024.

Would think it’s likely dem in 2026.

13

u/trampanzee 3d ago

I live in this district, which includes Clatsop County and Tillamook County. Both are fairly neutral, Clatsop leans a little more left, and Tillamook leans a little more right. While Tillamook County voted for Obama in 08 and 12, it has voted for Trump in every election since then. This district is pretty rural, and has not had a good Democrat run in a few cycles.

6

u/OverlordLork MA-07 3d ago

Thanks! I was curious how winnable of a district it was.

29

u/anndrago 3d ago edited 3d ago

I'm glad to see it this time, but I think switching parties in the middle of a term should probably be prohibited in general.

Edit: had a change of heart after chatting with another user.

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u/microcorpsman 3d ago

Parties are not an actual part of the government. Their are separate entities that public figures coordinate action through.

2

u/anndrago 3d ago

True, but they send a strong signal to voters with regard to whether a candidate will align with their own values.

10

u/microcorpsman 3d ago

And so an elected official should not be forced to stay affiliated with a non-governmental organization that doesn't align with their general values anymore. 

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u/anndrago 3d ago

I'm not sure I agree with you but it doesn't really matter in the end because the party system isn't likely to change in our lifetime.

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u/microcorpsman 3d ago

So you would want someone who woke up and finally realized they do NOT agree with some significant portion of their party's platform to be stuck with the same letter after their name, instead of having the option to try and be more honest with their constituents about the elected official's beliefs and values?

8

u/anndrago 3d ago

You know what, you're right. If I hold fast to the idea that officials shouldn't be allowed to change party, it means that I think officials should vote in line with their party all the time. I don't think that. In this incredibly divisive environment, voting party line has become extremely important for Democrats, partly because Republicans virtually never break from party line. I think my better judgment got hijacked by that game. Thanks for the chat.

-1

u/DogsRNice Ohio 3d ago

It does feel a bit wrong to me still, a lot of people do just vote based on the party, so it is essentially abandoning representing them, though those kinds of voters probably don't even pay much attention anyway

1

u/microcorpsman 1d ago

So? They don't represent just those who voted for them. 

They are representing everyone in their district, even if that person moved there after the election, didn't vote, or voted against them. 

5

u/distantreplay 3d ago

Given the deadline of Sept 4th in the year before the next election, you seem to be suggesting that any office holder who wishes to change parties should be prohibited from running for re-election? If he wishes to run in the Democratic primary next May 19th he must change his registration by Sept 4th.

How else can any lawmaker ever change parties?

0

u/Oregonizers 3d ago

Well, I think, technically, he'd have to change by the final filing deadline, not the first day of filing. But, yes.

14

u/ChicVintage 3d ago

Maybe we should just remove parties and you should just have to discuss your platform and win that way.

3

u/Dedpoolpicachew 3d ago

LOL, that’s what the founding fathers originally thought too. It lasted about 2 months. Parties are here and will remain.

2

u/ProudPatriot07 South Carolina- Rural Young Democrat 3d ago

Tbh I wish it was like this for state house positions. At least mayor and city council are nonpartisan here. Not that anything is really nonpartisan anymore... But you know. 

2

u/anndrago 3d ago

Agreed. Humans endlessly want to categorize, label, and bucket. We're big on patterns. But it also encourages a continuation of our tribalistic nature, which stinks in many contexts, including politics.

3

u/trampanzee 3d ago

I think this is the problem with our government. We are too focused on party affiliation instead of electing good honest people.

1

u/anndrago 3d ago

Yes, I agree that's one of many problems.

1

u/Dedpoolpicachew 3d ago

Party flippers are never welcomed wholeheartedly in the new party. They are always looked at with suspicion and never given any real positions. No committee posts, no real positions of meaning in the chamber. They are viewed basically as traitors. They betrayed once, they’re likely to do it again basically.

6

u/Blue387 LET'S GO METS 3d ago

People should send him thank you cards

1

u/KoloheKid1523 Hawaii 1d ago

HMMM... don't trust these motives...

0

u/true-skeptic 2d ago

So trustworthy now. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

0

u/ResponseBeeAble 2d ago

Choosing a person instead of a party could be the answer