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A Bexar County court-at-law judge elected during the “red tide” of 2010 is switching parties.

Standing at the foot of the Bexar County Courthouse steps, County Court-at-Law No. 11 Judge Carlo Key said Monday that he is joining the Democratic Party and will seek re-election as a Democrat in November 2014.

“Rational Republican beliefs have given way to ideological character assassination,” Judge Carlo Key declared. “Pragmatism and principle have been overtaken by pettiness and bigotry. Make no mistake, I did not leave the Republican Party, it left me,” said Key. “My principles have led me to the Democratic Party, and my only hope is that more people of principle will follow me.”

While he's been considering the decision for several weeks, it was the recent federal government shutdown that caused Key to seriously consider switching parties.

Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina said two other judges who attended a recent Democratic Party event could also make the switch in the near future, and U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, said he expects more to follow Key and Huntzinger.

“The Republican Party is catering to such a narrow ideological base,” he said, “and many Texans are realizing that the Democratic Party is a better choice. The Texas Republican Party is going backward in respect to Latino issues. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Democratic leaders said Republicans are inching away from Hispanic voters and further to the right of the political spectrum by doing things such as threatening to repeal the Texas DREAM Act and forcing the government to shut down.

“I will not be a member of a party in which hate speech elevates candidates for higher office, rather than disqualifying them. I cannot place my name on the ballot for a political party that is proud to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers over the vain attempt to repeal a law that will provide healthcare to millions of people throughout our country. I cannot tolerate a political party in which hate speech elevates a candidate to higher office rather than disqualifies them,” Key said, “and I cannot condone a party which values ideological purity over devotion to rule of law.”

On Monday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, addressed Key's announcement in an emailed statement.

“The Republican Party today is like a canoe that's tilting dangerously too far to the right. The folks thrown in the water didn't 'leave it,' they were dumped,” he said. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Court-at-law-judge-s
witches-to-Democratic-Party-4913137.php]

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