Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, a conservative Democrat who often voted with Republicans, switched parties Wednesday in the aftermath of the sweeping GOP victory in Tuesday's congressional elections.
Shelby, announcing a move long suspected that he would make, particularly if the GOP did well in this year's midterm vote, said he was becoming a Republican because there was no longer room for him in the Democratic Party."Officially, right now, I am changing parties to a party of hope," Shelby told a Capitol Hill news conference.
His decision, following the GOP's capture of eight Democrat-held seats in Tuesday's elections, boosted the new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate to 53-47.
Shelby, 60, said Wednesday he had tried working within the Democratic Party during his eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate.