Republican legislator becomes Democrat

Looks like Scott Brown mania is ending just as quickly as it started. Poor things, those Republicans.

Ron Erhardt was a longtime Republican lawmaker in Minnesota. But in 2008, he was forced to run as an independent, because the Republicans considered him not sufficiently conservative. He ended up losing to a right-wing Republican who won with only 37%.

But now Erhardt is switching parties altogether to become a Democrat. He plans to run for the legislature again - this time under the Democratic banner.

Hopefully this isn't like what happened in Utah when a far-rightist named David Hogue bolted from the GOP to become a Democrat. The last thing the Democrats need is to be dragged further right. But if Erhardt stays out of the far-right fold, I don't expect his switch to hurt the Democrats.

(Source: http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2010/01/19/15115/defeated_gop_override_six_legislator_erhardt_switching_parties_for_comeback_try)