A New Jersey state senator and Trump Republican announced his plans to leave the GOP and register as a Democrat after party leaders questioned his fitness for office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samuel Thompson, 87, announced Monday that he will seek re-election as a Democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe betrayal by so many of my friends \u2014 that was too much for me,\u201d he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. \u201cI am not leaving my party. My party leadership has left me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is my life. It gives me something to do every day when I wake up to get there and help people. The alternative is sit at home and just wait to die? I have to be active,\u201d he said according to the Inquirer. \u201cI think I\u2019m doing a public service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thompson decided to\u00a0leave\u00a0the GOP after state party leaders opted to support another candidate, citing concerns over Thompson\u2019s age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Middlesex County Republican Chairman Rob Bengivenga said that although he considered Thompson a friend and mentor and wanted him to be part of the party\u2019s future, leaders decided to support another candidate for state Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was hoping the Senator would embrace it and work together as a mentor and advisor for the years to come,\u201d he said in an emailed statement to the Inquirer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thompson\u2019s departure would expand the Democrats\u2019 edge in the state Senate from 24 to 25 seats in the 40-member chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy welcomed Thompson\u2019s decision to join the party, calling him a \u201ctireless public servant,\u201d the outlet stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A New Jersey state senator and Trump Republican announced his plans to leave the GOP and register as a Democrat after party leaders questioned his fitness for office. Samuel Thompson, 87, announced Monday that he will seek re-election as a Democrat. \u201cThe betrayal by so many of my friends \u2014 that was too much for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[79,467,262],"class_list":["post-3237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-maga","tag-new-jersey","tag-trump-2024"],"yoast_head":"\n