The GOP Lost Big Last Week, Despite Mayor Johnson's New Republican Mayors Group

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson picked an interesting time to suddenly become a Republican. On Election Day last week, less than two months after announcing his party switch, the GOP suffered some serious losses nationwide.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, classified election night on Tuesday as a “complete failure” for the GOP. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said the results served as proof that the “Republican platform sucks.”

Still, Johnson continues trying to make conservative mayors a thing.

About three weeks ago, Johnson heralded the creation of the Republican Mayors Association, of which he appears to be the only leadership member. RMA’s website offers scant information beyond a Johnson quote and bio and three press releases.

In one such release dated Nov. 3, Johnson announced that he’d paired up with Indianapolis Republican candidate Jefferson Shreve on the mayoral campaign trail.

“Indianapolis is in a state of crisis when it comes to crime, but we can turn this around,” Shreve reportedly said. “The changes Mayor Johnson made in Dallas can be made here, but we need a leader who is willing to think big, innovate and make change right away. I am the person for the job.”

The voters of Indianapolis apparently disagreed. Shreve lost by 18 points.

When it comes to crime, we’re not sure why someone would want to emulate our fair city. Johnson-led Big D saw an astounding 73% rise in shoplifting in the first half of 2023.

“I’m so sick of crime in Republican run cities,” journalist Steven Monacelli recently wrote on X.

I'm so sick of crime in Republican run cities pic.twitter.com/icvpp5zfH6

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) November 9, 2023

And just last month, Dallas earned the not-so-stellar distinction of being named the 165th-safest city in the U.S. (out of 182), ranking behind several other Texas metros. Dallas performed worse than Austin, Houston and El Paso, all of which are helmed by — you guessed it — Democratic mayors.

Although Shreve was dealt a defeat in Indianapolis, one can’t rule out that the Republican Mayors Association could potentially do GOP candidates some good in the long run, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. The group hasn’t had much time to execute a list of accomplishments just yet.

Jillson finds it “interesting” that an organization like this one apparently didn’t exist before. He cited other GOP groups, such as the Republican Governors Association, adding, “If it's the case that Republican mayors did not have an organization until Mayor Johnson declared himself a Republican and created it, that probably tells you something.”

By contrast, the Democratic Mayors Association portrays seven mayors on its leadership page.

"He's a Republican by declaration — not by election." – Dr. Cal Jillson, SMU professor

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Last Tuesday, conservatives eked out some wins in places where they already enjoyed major advantages, Jillson said, citing the Mississippi governor’s race as an example. Certain GOP mayors won in mid-sized cities and towns dotting the U.S. map, especially in red states.

Overall, though, it was a very good night for Democrats, he said.

Voters in Ohio added abortion as a guaranteed right to the state’s constitution. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky clinched reelection after hammering his GOP challenger’s anti-abortion stance. And Dems again rejoiced upon flipping the Virginia House of Delegates, securing control of both chambers of that state’s legislature.

Large municipalities typically lean toward the Dems because they’re home to diverse populations, Jillson said. Thanks to Johnson’s party change, Dallas dethroned Fort Worth as the biggest city in the U.S. with a Republican mayor.

Yet Johnson’s successes undoubtedly stem from the fact that he once had a “D” by his name, Jillson noted.

“No one believes that he would have had a political career in Dallas as a Republican, either in the Texas House in his overwhelmingly Black district in South Dallas, or as the mayor of Dallas,” he said. “So you know, he's a Republican by declaration — not by election.”

Look, to be fair, there were some GOP mayoral victories last week — including in towns like Berlin, New Hampshire, and New Britain, Connecticut — which the Republican Mayors Association boasted about on X.

But when asked whether we’ll see a trend of big-city conservative mayors in the future, Jillson seemed less than optimistic: “No. I don’t think so.”