It’s a shame, really. The common ground has become difficult to find.

Thompson—who represents a largely rural area outside the north Louisiana city of Monroe—took pains to emphasize that record in his decision to switch.

“Let me clear—Nothing has changed,” Thompson said in a statement following the switch. “There are values and principles that I firmly hold onto that guide my decisions. My conservative voting record over my years in the Legislature speaks for itself.

“The push the past several years by Democratic leadership on both the national and state level to support certain issues does not align with those values and principles that are a part of my Christian life,” he added.