The mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson, is leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican, saying that while his city was able to thrive under his leadership, Democratic policies everywhere else in the nation have put U.S. cities in "disarray."

"I have no intention of changing my approach to my job. But today I am changing my party affiliation," Johnson, who has served as mayor since 2019, announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Friday. "Next spring, I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican."

"American cities need Republicans—and Republicans need American cities," Johnson wrote.

Johnson's 23 years in public office have been defined by his affiliation with the Democratic Party. He was elected as a member of the Texas House of Representatives in a special election where he won the Democratic primary with 75 percent of the vote, and he was subsequently re-elected to that post five times. When he was elected as mayor four years ago, he became the second-ever African American mayor to be elected in Dallas history.

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But while Johnson has been a Democrat his entire career, he has focused on increasing funding for public safety and economic development, two issues that are typically associated with the Republican Party.

On Friday, Johnson vocally criticized the Democratic mayors of other large cities for approaching their cities as "laboratories for liberalism" and blasted them for not prioritizing public safety nor exercising fiscal restraint.

"Too often, local tax dollars are spent on policies that exacerbate homelessness, coddle criminals and make it harder for ordinary people to make a living," the mayor wrote. "And too many local Democrats insist on virtue signaling—proposing half-baked government programs that aim to solve every single societal ill—and on finding new ways to thumb their noses at Republicans at the state or federal level. Enough. This makes for good headlines, but not for safer, stronger, more vibrant cities."

Johnson's announcement was celebrated by other Texas Republicans, like Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, who applauded his decision to change his party affiliation.

"Texas is getting more Red every day," Abbott wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson switches to Republican Party. He's pro law enforcement & won't tolerate leftist agendas. Two of the 10 largest cities in America now have Republican Mayors & they are both in Texas."

Cornyn shared Johnson's op-ed on his official social media accounts.

Johnson pointed out that he would be the only Republican mayor leading the nation's 10 largest cities, but stopped short of calling it the effects of "a red wave." Dallas is the 9th largest city in the United States. In order, the largest cities are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and San Diego. San Jose is the 10th largest city behind Dallas.

"It is clear that the nation and its cities have reached a time for choosing. And the overwhelming majority of Americans who call our cities home deserve to have real choices—not 'progressive' echo chambers—at city hall," Johnson said.