LINCOLN — State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha announced Wednesday he is changing his party registration from Democrat to Republican.
McDonnell said he is making the change because his anti-abortion views have not been respected by Nebraska Democrats, including the decision by the Douglas County Democrats not to seat him as a delegate and not to provide resources to him and the state party’s decision to censure him.
“Being a Christian, a member of the Roman Catholic Church and pro-life is more important to me than being a registered Democrat,” he said.
He made the announcement at a press conference flanked by Gov. Jim Pillen, Attorney General Mike Hilgers and a number of other Republican leaders.
Among those in attendance was Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, whose decision to join the GOP in 2020 was similarly celebrated by party leaders. Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson and P.J. Morgan, a Douglas County commissioner and former Omaha mayor, also were there.
Pillen welcomed McDonnell to the GOP, saying the senator had “found his way home.” Others praised McDonnell as a person of character and integrity, a leader and a “solid guy.” Hanson said he expects that McDonnell, who is president of the Omaha Federation of Labor, will continue to speak up for labor issues and that his party switch will show labor groups that both Republicans and Democrats should be fighting for their support.
McDonnell said his decision had not been easy. He has been a Democrat for 40 years, after growing up with a grandfather who told him, “We’re Irish, we’re Catholic and we’re Democrats.” McDonnell said he has been considering a switch for the past year.
He came under fire within the Democratic Party in the last few years for his legislative votes in favor of banning abortion and prohibiting minors from getting transgender medical care. He was the only Democrat to do so.
In March, the state party’s central committee voted to formally censure McDonnell, less than a year after his vote on Legislative Bill 574, the abortion and transgender health care bill.
McDonnell split with his former party on other measures, including one to boost scholarships for private schools students and another to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb responded to the announcement by saying the party would continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community.
“Our decision to censure Sen. McDonnell was never about him being a pro-life Catholic,” she said. “Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions.
“We respect the ongoing work of Sen. McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state,” she said.
The latter was a reference to McDonnell’s opposition to the idea of switching Nebraska back to a winner-take-all system of allocating electoral college votes. On Wednesday, he said he would continue to vote against any such proposal, even though it has been one of the Nebraska GOP’s priorities.
“My votes for the last eight years would not have changed,” he said, referring to the two terms he has served in the Nebraska Legislature.
McDonnell represents Legislative District 5 in southeast Omaha. He was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, and will leave the Legislature at the end of the year because of term limits.
He said he is still eyeing a run for Omaha mayor, even though it would mean taking on the Republican incumbent, Jean Stothert. The election is nonpartisan, as are legislative races. McDonnell said he has not made a decision yet and is focused on finishing out the legislative session.