Justin Lamb, 1st District County Commissioner elect, made an official announcement Thursday on his social media account that he will be changing his political affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
Lamb, who ran on the Democratic ticket in the 2018 general election, was elected to the 1st District Commissioner seat over Republican candidate Joshua Medley. The following is the statement released from Lamb on his personal Facebook page.
“This past year as I waged my first county-wide political campaign, it became clearly evident to me that the political party I’ve spent my career working in no longer represented my values. As the Democratic Party continues to move further away from the core values we hold dear in Marshall County, I have concluded that I no longer have a home within the Democratic Party. Therefore, after prayerful consideration I’ve made the important decision to become a member of the Republican Party. This decision was one based on personal conviction as my conservative beliefs are far more in tune with the platform of the Republican Party. Since first registering to vote in 2004, I had worked within the Democratic Party as a conservative West Kentucky Democrat in hopes that the party would move back to the political center, but instead I painfully watched the party on all levels continue down a path toward liberalism and increasingly found myself alienated by the liberal agenda of party leadership. As a proud conservative, I’m looking forward to serving the people of Marshall County in a party that represents and promotes conservative ideals and principles.”
Lamb says that several issues have prompted him to officially change his affiliation from the Democratic party specifically citing their stance on 2nd amendment rights, religious liberty, abortion, and immigration. Another tipping point in his decision was the fact that Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez proclaimed that Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described socialist, was the “future of the Democratic Party.” Lamb says he is a strong believer in traditional American values and does not want to be associated with any party that embraces any form of socialism.
When asked about the timing of his decision to make the change to the Republican party, Lamb says several things happened over the course of his campaign that led him to this decision at this time,
“As a conservative, I have been a minority within the Democratic Party for years. I have always disagreed with the national party and remained a Democrat because of the local party. However since the passing of Judge Mike Miller, I have watched the local party become more and more in step with the liberal direction of the national party. I remained a Democrat because of the naive hope that the party would once again return to the political center. However, it has become apparent that the only direction the party is headed toward is the far left. They no longer represent Marshall County values and I can no longer be a member. The timing of the change was gradual. After I won the Democratic primary, I attended a reception in Murray in honor of NRA president Oliver North. As a proud NRA member, I considered it an honor to meet Col. North. Following the meeting, I was publicly scorned by various members of the local Democratic party for attending an NRA event. I was astonished at how far out of step the local Democratic Party was with the people of Marshall County who overwhelmingly support gun rights and the NRA. I remember a time when Democratic candidates in western Kentucky were proud of their NRA membership. Unfortunately party leadership now looks at NRA membership as a liability. As I continued my campaign, I received very little support from the local Democratic establishment because of my conservative beliefs. Additionally like many across the country, I was absolutely appalled of how Justice Brett Kavanaugh was treated by the Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary committee and I was ashamed to be a member of a party who condoned such behavior. During my entire campaign for county commissioner, I was completely honest and upfront about my conservative beliefs with the voters and even lost a great deal of Democratic support because of my straightforwardness. The people of Marshall County know me and know what I stand for.”
Chairman of the Marshall County Republican party, Danny Holt, says that Lamb will be welcomed with open arms after he is sworn into office in January. He plans to meet with the commissioner elect on Monday to discuss the decision in more detail. According to local bi-laws of the Marshall County Republican party, Lamb will be entitled to a place on their committee as a Republican elected official.