Friday morning, September 5 brought a major announcement from Oregon State Rep. Cyrus Javadi: He has officially left the Republican Party and registered as a Democrat. And he plans to seek reelection as a Democrat in 2026.
Javadi, who was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2022, discussed his reasons for leaving the GOP in a Friday Substack essay.
In his column, the former Republican made a similar argument that many Never Trump conservatives — from MSNBC's Joe Scarborough to attorney George Conway to Washington Post columnist George Will — have made: He didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left him.
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"Let’s not bury the lead: I’m switching parties," Javadi declares. "I'll be running for reelection as a Democrat. And before the conspiracy mills start cranking: no, it's not because I lost a primary. No, it's not because I binge-watched Rachel Maddow and saw the light. And no, I haven't forgotten who I am, who I serve, or the values that got me here. What's changed isn't me. It’s the party I once called home."
Javadi goes on explain why his "patience had worn thin" with the Republican Party.
"Every priority for Oregon's North Coast, nearly every single one, ran into opposition from my own party," the state lawmaker explains. "Protecting Medicaid benefits for the nearly 60 percent of children in Tillamook and Clatsop counties? Opposed. Keeping rural hospitals afloat? Opposed. Preserving students' access to books that reflect who they are? Opposed. Protecting the First Amendment rights of people different from ourselves? Opposed. Not because the policies were flawed. But because helping me deliver for my district didn't fit the Republican Party's agenda."
Javadi notes that he is being inundated with hate mail, which, he argues, reflects the state of the GOP in 2025.
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"For months now," a frustrated Javadi writes, "the Republican Party's message has been simple: we don’t care what the problem is, just vote no, or else. And for me, that's a problem. Because I didn't run for office to be a rubber stamp…. I know many Republicans who still share my values, but the party apparatus is headed somewhere else entirely."
Javadi continues, "It’s not about governing. It’s about burning things down. It’s about isolating minority communities when politically convenient. It’s about waving the Constitution when it helps your argument and ignoring it when it doesn't. That’s not conservative. That’s opportunistic. And it corrodes everything it touches…. I’ve had enough of politics as performance art."
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Oregon State Rep. Cyrus Javadi's full Substack column is available at this link.