Georgia state Rep. Mesha Mainor from Atlanta switched to the Republican Party Tuesday (July 11) and became the only Black GOP state lawmaker, giving Republicans a 102-78 majority in the Georgia House of Representative, the Associated Press reports.

Mainor, who was first elected in 2020 to represent the heavily Democratic District 56, had a rocky relationship with Democrats over her support for private school vouchers, prosecutor oversight and other issues.

Speaking at a press conference to announce her decision, Mainor said that Democrats had “relentlessly tried to sabotage every single thing that I have done for District 56,” according to the AP. “I thought it was OK to not agree with those things as a Democrat. But they told me, ‘You know what, those are values we just don’t have.’”

Mainor urged others to follow her example. “I am encouraging more Black Americans and Black Democrats in particular – you might have this coat on, but I suggest you look at the lining. See what’s on the inside,” she said, according to the AP reports.

Mainor was the only Democrat to vote in favor of a failed bill that would have allowed $6,500 private school vouchers. She also supported legislation to create a state board to investigate district attorneys and to block local governments from defunding police departments, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Members of the Democrat Party have publicly slandered me in every way imaginable,” Mainor said at the news conference, flanked by state GOP leaders who supported her party change, according to the AJC. “If it’s not your values to support kids in schools where only 3 percent can read, I don’t have the same values.”

Some were a bit surprised by the party switch because Mainor previously said she would stay in the Democratic Party. But Georgia Democratic leaders feared that Mainor would become a divisive force if she remained in the party’s legislative caucus and were glad to see her leave.

”This was an inevitable result of her narcissism, and many of us saw it coming. Good riddance,” Democratic State Sen. Josh McLaurin told the AJC. Earlier this year, McLaurin tweeted a picture of a $1,000 check available to anyone who would run against Mainor in the next Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams called the party switch a “stinging betrayal” of Mainor’s constituents who voted nearly 90 percent for President Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

“House District 56 deserves a representative who will do the job they were elected to do, including fighting for high-quality public education. Georgia Democrats look forward to electing a strong Democrat next year in H.D. 56 who will serve the people, not personal political ambitions,” Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement.