Longtime politician and New Jersey State Senator Samuel Thompson, a former President Donald Trump supporter, says he is leaving the Republican Party and will seek reelection as a Democrat, NBC reports.
The retired U.S. Army official told Associated Press (AP) in a phone interview he made the decision "after party leaders questioned his fitness for office because of his age." Thompson is 87.
“It is my life. It gives me something to do every day when I wake up to get there and help people. The alternative is sit at home and just wait to die? I have to be active,” the senator said. “I think I’m doing a public service.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, shared his admiration for the senator's commitment to his role in a statement, describing Thompson as "a tireless public servant," according to AP.
Thompson said many of his colleagues in the state Senate "work part time as legislators while also holding other jobs," but "he works only as a legislator."
AP reports GOP state Senator and Chairman Rob Bengivenga contended that "although he considered Thompson a friend and mentor and wanted him to be part of the party’s future, leaders decided to support another candidate for state Senate."
“I was hoping the Senator would embrace it and work together as a mentor and advisor for the years to come,” he said in an emailed statement.
Reflecting on the state GOP's decision to choose another candidate, Thompson said, “The betrayal by so many of my friends — that was too much for me. I am not leaving my party. My party leadership has left me.”
HuffPost reports Thompson will run for reelection later this year, and with his new membership, the state Democratic senators will then take up "25 of the chamber’s 40 seats."
When asked about how he would fit into the Democratic Party as a Trump supporter, the senator responded, “Everybody is entitled to their own choices and what they’re going to do."
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