About two dozen mayors met in Dallas this week with one mission: Make cities part of the Republican Party’s priority.
Eric Johnson founded the association after he changed parties three years ago, saying he wanted to grow conservative leadership in urban strongholds that tend to be dominated by Democrats.
Johnson, who is scheduled to speak Thursday at the two-day GOP rally in Dallas, pushes for conservative policies to address high costs and quality of life issues, including homelessness.
“Mayors are on the front lines of those issues every day,” Johnson told The Dallas Morning News.
Johnson swapped parties five months after he won reelection in 2023. His move made Dallas the most populous U.S. city led by a Republican.
Republican mayors, like Johnson, say there has never been a better time to grow an urban base. In 2024, urban cores across the country shifted to the right.
Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Kardal Coleman said Johnson’s political switch didn’t alter the city’s political leanings. Dallas County has voted blue for over two decades, he said.
Orange County Party Chair Will O’Neill said there’s nothing partisan about fixing potholes, but you need money to do that and that requires a conservative budgeting and policymaking.
The Republican Mayors Association could set up the machinery to help the GOP grow its power in blue cities.
“I’ve recruited dozens and dozens of candidates over the years, and they want to hear that there’s going to be some intellectual support, some financial support,” said Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming.
Rector said the GOP often lacks the registered voters in larger cities to stay competitive but it could get there gradually by “showing the success of conservative principles and ideas that have been implemented in large cities that maybe have a Democrat there.”