Some believe politics is about division: dividing voters, dividing voices, dividing people who don’t fit a mold. I believe differently. Politics, when it’s done right, is about multiplication. Multiplying voices. Multiplying votes. Multiplying people who are ready to fight for America—regardless of where they started. That was Charlie Kirk’s message. And that’s the future of the Republican Party.
I know, because I’ve lived it.
I was a Democrat. Like millions of Americans, I voted blue for a variety of reasons. But over time, I watched as the Democrat Party drifted—not just to the left, but away from families, faith, and working people. Away from the values that built this country. I left the Democrat Party and became a proud Republican.
In doing so, I joined the ranks of other former Democrats who changed their political home when their party left them—figures like President Donald Trump, who registered as a Republican after decades as a Democrat in New York, and President Ronald Reagan, who famously said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” Even our current California Republican Party Chairwoman, Corrin Rankin, began as a Democrat before realizing that the GOP better represents freedom, opportunity, and faith in the individual.
I stand proudly in that tradition. But let me be clear: that decision was not easy. I faced attacks not just from Democrats who called me a traitor—but even from some Republicans who questioned whether I belonged. It hurt, but it also clarified my mission. I didn’t leave the left to walk into a different kind of exclusion. I left because I believe in a Republican Party that grows by welcoming—not gatekeeping. That’s politics by multiplication, not division.
And no one understood that better than Charlie Kirk.
Charlie built one of the most effective conservative youth movements in American history. He reached people where they were—college students, new voters, working-class young Americans who felt ignored. And in doing so, he made space for people who didn’t always see themselves as Republican, but knew they believed in truth, freedom, and America. His assassination earlier this month was a tragedy that shook the conservative movement—but it also lit a fire. Across the country, Democrats and Independents are walking away from the party they once called home and registering Republican. According to recent reports, the surge in party-switching following his death is real—and growing. (NY Post, 9/16/25)
Why? Because people are tired of being silenced. Tired of being told they don’t belong if they don’t parrot the latest extreme talking point. Tired of watching political violence be minimized when it targets someone on the right.
What’s happening isn’t a fluke, it’s a movement. And it’s a reminder that our best path forward isn’t to demand ideological purity but to invite principled unity. We’re not going to win the future by telling people they’re not conservative enough. We win by standing firm on values—freedom, faith, family, safety, economic opportunity—and inviting others to stand with us, wherever they’re starting from.
This is especially true in California. Our state is filled with hardworking families—Latino, Black, Asian, and white—who love this country, who believe in parental rights, who want their neighborhoods to be safe, and who believe children should be taught how to think, not what to think. These are not radical views. But too often, in today’s Democrat Party, they’re treated like threats. That’s why voters are leaving.
When I joined the Senate Republican Caucus, I was welcomed by Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones and others who understand that the Republican tent must grow. Not water down our values—just the opposite. We must offer a bold, hopeful, and inclusive vision rooted in timeless American ideals.
Let’s be clear: Charlie Kirk’s death wasn’t just a political flashpoint—it was a moral wake-up call. We must loudly and unequivocally reject political violence, no matter who the target is. And we must rebuild a culture where disagreement is not a reason for dehumanization.
To my fellow Republicans: we must be the party that welcomes the newly awakened. The party that offers clarity and courage. The party that believes in redemption, second chances, and big coalitions. The next Reagan or Trump might be someone who’s still a Democrat today. Let’s make sure they know they have a home with us when they’re ready.
I didn’t become a Republican to tear down. I became one to help build up. Let’s honor Charlie Kirk by doing just that—building a party, a movement, and a nation that grows not by division, but by multiplication.
Marie Alvarado-Gil represents the 4th District in the California Senate.