Another Democrat has walked away and this time, not quietly.
New Jersey Councilman David Kupfershmid, a lifelong Democrat, announced he is switching to the Republican Party, citing what many others across the country have said: the Democratic Party has moved so far left that it no longer resembles what it once was. In his announcement, Kupfershmid said bluntly, “The Democrat Party does not represent us anymore.” He then immediately backed Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli to prove his commitment was more than symbolic.
https://twitter.com/MichaelCasey_/status/1981093237629866014
Kupfershmid is the first Republican on Alpine’s borough council in more than twenty years. The town of just 1,750 residents has been reliably Democrat at the local level despite recent Republican wins at the top of the ticket. President Trump carried Alpine by nearly 13 points last fall, and Ciattarelli won it by 18 in 2021, yet Democrats have held a monopoly on the council for decades. Kupfershmid hopes to break that grip. “I hope this is the beginning of a resurgence for the Republican Party in Alpine where alternate voices are much needed,” he said.
He also criticized far-left Democrats like New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, saying the radical wing now defines the party. While Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill refuses to denounce those voices, Kupfershmid says Ciattarelli is offering what voters actually want — common-sense policies on crime and over-development.
And New Jersey isn’t the only blue state seeing defections.
In South Carolina, First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe announced he is leaving the party as well. His move leaves only three Democrat solicitors statewide versus thirteen Republicans. Pascoe made the announcement at a Dorchester County GOP dinner surrounded by Republican officials, signaling a deliberate and public realignment, not a quiet exit.
Taken together, these defections reflect a national trend: Democrats who once felt at home in their party are jumping ship as the left embraces radicalism and abandons traditional voters. Republicans are increasingly gaining converts not by persuasion alone, but because Democrats are driving people out.
Each high-profile switch sends a signal: the political ground is shifting. And it’s not shifting left.
Welcome to the party of common sense…well, at least most of us have some common sense.