Jeffries, a two-term state senator from the 8th District covering parts of Kanawha and Putnam counties, announced his party switch Thursday morning.

“I have the greatest respect for the many friends and supporters I have been blessed with during my time in public office,” Jeffries said. “I hope to continue and strengthen those relationships going forward.”

“Our politics have gotten so personal and difficult,” he continued. “I want to make sure that I serve constituents and our state in a respectful, thoughtful way that leads to a better life for all West Virginians.”

Republicans hold 23 out of 34 seats in the state Senate. But after the November elections, the Senate Republican majority grew to 30 seats, leaving Jeffries, Senate Minority Whip Michael Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Sens. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, and Mike Caputo, D-Marion.

Republicans picked up three open seats with the elections of Laura Wakim Chapman from Ohio County, Jay Taylor of Taylor County, and Mike Oliverio of Monongalia County. Oliverio is also a former Democratic state senator and U.S. House of Representatives candidate who switched parties to Republican.

Republicans also defeated four incumbents, including Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, and state Sens. Ron Stollings, D-Boone; Richard Lindsay, D-Kanawha; and Hannah Geffert, D-Berkeley.

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, is likely to retain the gavel when the incoming Senate Republican caucus meets this weekend to choose its leadership for the next two years. He praised Jeffries for joining the Republican supermajority.

“With Sen. Jeffries as a member of our caucus, we stand at 31 members strong,” Blair said. “Glenn has been a leader in the minority caucus with his work in economic development and infrastructure. As a successful small business owner, he knows what meeting a payroll, hard work, responsibility and teamwork mean. I know he has been – and will continue to be – an incredibly valuable member of the West Virginia Senate.”

With Jeffries’ party switch, that leaves just 15 Democratic lawmakers in the Legislature, making up 11% of the 134-member legislative branch. After the November elections, the Republican majority in the 100-member House of Delegates grew from 78 members to 88 members, leaving just 12 Democrats.

The GOP gains in November maintain the Republican supermajorities in both chambers as well as give them the four-fifths votes needed to suspend state constitutional rules requiring bills be read in three separate days without needing a single vote from the Democratic minority. The shrinking numbers mean Democratic lawmakers have fewer parliamentary tools to block or slow down legislation with which they disagree.

Tony Hodge, chairman of the Putnam County Republican Party and co-chair of the West Virginia Republican Party, said he was pleased that Jeffries switched parties.

“I warmly welcome Sen. Glenn Jeffries into the West Virginia Republican Party,” Hodge said. “Sen. Jeffries has proven himself to be a very hard worker for Putnam County. His efforts to improve infrastructure such as water and sewer services as well as road maintenance have been exemplary.

“We watch the Legislature very closely, and if there is one thing I know about Sen. Jeffries, it’s that he is more interested in policy than politics,” Hodge said. “This came across to me again when I met with Glenn to discuss his interest in joining the West Virginia Republican Party.”

West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin, a member of the House of Delegates representing Kanawha County, expressed his displeasure with Jeffries’ party switch. In a statement Thursday, Pushkin tried to link Jeffries to former president Donald Trump, who caused controversy recently by dining with rapper Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, both accused of antisemitism.

“For Sen. Jeffries to claim he doesn’t like the direction of the Democratic Party, barely a week after his new party’s de facto leader had dinner with a Holocaust-denying white supremacist (Fuentes), is like being called ugly by a frog,” Pushkin said. “Is this the direction Senator Jeffries is more comfortable seeing his new party move in? If not, he and Tony Hodge should join other Republican leaders around the country in condemning President Trump’s dangerous and ill-advised actions.”