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Vernon Jones announces he’s a Republican now

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Vernon Jones announces he’s a Republican now

Vernon Jones
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DeKalb County, GA — Former state representative Vernon Jones surprised few on Jan. 6 when he announced that he was officially switching his party affiliation to Republican.

“Moments ago, I announced that I am officially joining the Republican Party,” Jones said on Twitter. “Now more than ever, the Republican Party is in desperate need of leaders that know how to fight. I know how to fight.”

His rhetoric of late has been violent, to be sure.

Soon after the Nov. 3 election, when it started to become obvious that President Trump would lose his reelection bid, Jones attended a presser and said, “this fight is just getting started. We see the white in their eyes and we’re going to start shooting.”

Jones, who most recently served as a state representative from DeKalb County, decided to resign his state House seat, before changing his mind and serving the remainder of his term. But he decided not to run for re-election. He was also facing a challenge to his residency when he decided not to run again. The formerly Democratic politician also endorsed Donald Trump, which brought him notoriety within Republican circles. He also previously served as DeKalb County’s CEO.

His announcement comes a day after Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff beat incumbent Republican senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the Jan. 5 runoff, turning the U.S. Senate blue.

It was a victory that owes no small debt to voters in DeKalb County, particularly Black voters, who helped push both candidates over the finish line. For more information about that story, click here.

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