After the backlash from House Republicans, Speaker Philip Gunn and Pro Tem Chairman Jason White backed out of holding a fundraiser for now-independent former Democratic Rep. Shanda Yates.
Gunn and White wrote a mea culpa at the House GOP caucus on Thursday. In their memo, they said, “We believe she is considering joining our party and hope she does,” and said they had agreed to help her raise funds with the aim of get her to join the Republican Party. They said Yates “voted with Republicans a lot of the time, which got him kicked out of the Democratic Party.”
But Gunn and White attending the fundraiser have upset many in the Republican House, who said Yates still often votes with Democrats and is backed by some liberal groups. In their memo, House GOP leaders acknowledged, “Shanda certainly has liberal ideas and cast liberal votes.”
“In hindsight, as president-elect and Pro Tem, we should not have agreed to host the reception unless she changed party affiliation,” Gunn and White wrote. “…due to the reservations we have expressed to many of you, we have informed Shanda that we will not be able to host or attend a reception for a candidate who is not a member of the Republican Party.”
READ MORE: Mississippi Democrats have lost a promising newcomer, Rep. Shanda Yates. Now what?
On Friday, Yates did not immediately respond to a request for comment and a question about whether she was considering moving to Republican.
Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, on social media Thursday lambasted Gunn and White for planning to hold the fundraiser and wrote, “The world has turned upside down!”
“The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and Pro-Tem are raising funds for the most liberal members of the House,” Currie wrote. “She voted against the pro-life abortion bills and the Equity Act which prevents men from participating in women’s sports… The president informed the lobbyist (sic) to send her money and not legislators so we can run for re-election and he will. decide how and to whom the money will be spent. I guess it’s his choice.
Members of the Mississippi Freedom Caucus, which includes a small group of conservative House members, issued a press release on Thursday calling on “Gunn and White to disavow liberal Shanda Yates.”
“Yates, who defeated longtime Republican Bill Denny, ran on a far-left progressive platform,” the statement said. “… During his tenure in the Legislative Assembly, Yates drafted a bill to remove the ban on same-sex marriage, allow same-sex couples to adopt children, allow early voting and voter registration online and several bills to expand Medicaid… This is certainly news low for the Republican leadership of the Mississippi Legislature to help raise funds for a legislator who holds such extreme liberal views.
The statement also described White, considered President Gunn’s longtime heir, as “former Democrat turned Republican Pro Tem Chairman Jason White.” White was first elected to the House as a Democrat in 2011, but switched to Republican in late 2012 and served as a top lieutenant on Gunn’s GOP leadership team.
Yates of Jackson is in her first term representing the District 64 House seat, taking office in 2020. In January, Yates announced she was becoming an independent because “members of my own caucus and party have made it clear that I was not wanted within the Democratic Party. To party.”
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After Republicans complain, President Gunn withdraws from fundraising for former Democrat Shanda Yates
After the backlash from House Republicans, Speaker Philip Gunn and pro-Tem Speaker Jason White backed out of holding a fundraiser for now-independent former Democratic Rep. Shanda Yates.
Gunn and White wrote a mea culpa at the House GOP Caucus on Thursday. In their memo, they said, “We believe she is considering joining our party and hope she will,” and said they had agreed to help her raise funds with the aim of get her to join the Republican Party. They said Yates “voted with Republicans a lot of the time, which kicked her out of the Democratic Party.”
But Gunn and White attending the fundraiser angered many in the Republican House, who said Yates still often votes with Democrats and is backed by some liberal groups. In their memo, House GOP leaders acknowledged, “Shanda certainly has liberal ideas and cast liberal votes.”
“In hindsight, as president-elect and Pro Tem, we should not have agreed to host the reception unless she changed party affiliation,” Gunn and White wrote. “…due to the reservations we have expressed to many of you, we have informed Shanda that we will not be able to proceed with hosting or attending a reception for a candidate who is not not a member of the Republican Party.”
LEARN MORE: Mississippi Democrats have lost a promising newcomer in Rep. Shanda Yates. And now ?
Yates did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment and a question about whether she was considering moving to Republican.
Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, on social media Thursday lambasted Gunn and White for planning to hold the fundraiser and wrote, “The world has flipped!”
“Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and Pro-Tem raising money for the most liberal members of the House,” Currie wrote. “She voted against the pro-life abortion bills and the equity law that excludes men from women’s sports… The president informed the lobbyist (sic) to send him money not legislators so we can run for re-election and he will decide how and to who the money will be spent. I guess it’s his choice.”
Members of the Mississippi Freedom Caucus, which includes a small group of conservative House members, issued a press release Thursday calling on “Gunn and White to disavow liberal Shanda Yates.”
“Yates, who defeated longtime Republican Bill Denny, ran on a far-left progressive platform,” the statement said. “… During his tenure in the Legislative Assembly, Yates drafted a bill to remove the ban on same-sex marriage, allow same-sex couples to adopt children, allow early voting and registration online voters and several bills to expand Medicaid… This is definitely a new low for the Republican leadership of the Mississippi Legislative Assembly to help raise funds for a legislator who holds such extreme liberal views .”
The release also described White, considered President Gunn’s longtime heir, as “former Democrat turned Republican Pro Tem Chairman Jason White.” White was first elected to the House as a Democrat in 2011, but switched to Republican in late 2012 and served as a top lieutenant on Gunn’s GOP leadership team.
Yates of Jackson is in her first term to represent the 64th seat district in the House, taking office in 2020. In January, Yates announced she was becoming an independent because “members of my own caucus and party have made it clear that I was not wanted in the Democratic Party”.
This article was first published on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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