Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s Party Switch and Path to Republican Alignment
By Francis Page, Jr.
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September 28, 2023 (Houston Style Magazine) — In a surprising turn of events, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a lifelong Dallas native and former Democrat State Representative, made headlines last week by announcing his switch to the Republican Party. This move makes him the only mayor aligned with the Republican Party among America’s 14 largest cities.
Johnson, who took office as Dallas’ 60th Mayor and the second African American Mayor in 2019, expressed his rationale for this political shift. “America’s cities need Republicans, and I’m becoming one,” he declared. It’s a significant move in a city where official city offices in Texas, including the Mayor’s office, traditionally have no party designation. However, the political inclinations of its politicians have become increasingly known since Mayor Lee P. Brown’s election in Houston during the 1990s.
The timing of Mayor Johnson’s announcement is notable, coming just after his re-election in May, where he secured a historic 98.7 percent of the vote. This achievement shattered a 114-year-old record for the highest vote percentage ever garnered by a mayoral candidate facing opposition in Dallas’ history.
In explaining his decision, Mayor Johnson emphasized the need for genuine choices in America’s cities. “The overwhelming majority of Americans call our cities home. They deserve real choices—not ‘progressive’ echo chambers—at their city hall,” he asserted.
While his decision to switch parties is clear, the reasons behind it remain less so. Mayor Johnson has stated that he plans to participate in his first Republican Primary in Dallas County and within the Republican Party of Texas in the upcoming Spring. However, Dallas, and especially Dallas County, has been a Democratic stronghold for a decade longer than its neighboring city, Houston, and Harris County. It remains to be seen for which office he will cast his vote in the Republican Primary on Tuesday, March 5th.
Before serving as Dallas Mayor, Johnson was a Democratic Member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing a portion of Dallas and its suburbs from April 2010 to June 2019. During his tenure in the Texas Legislature, he served on influential committees, including Appropriations, Ways and Means, Higher Education, and Natural Resources. Additionally, he chaired the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation and is a partner at the Locke Lord Law Firm.
Eric Johnson’s journey to political leadership began in Dallas, where he attended Dallas ISD through the first grade before earning a scholarship to Greenhill School through the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. He furthered his education at Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude with a history degree. Later, he obtained a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Notably, Johnson is an alumnus of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He resides in Dallas with his wife, Nikki, and their three children: William, George, and Lela, along with their faithful companion, Penny the dog. Together, they are active members of Dallas’ Mountain View Church of Christ.
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