Dallas, TX
Dallas mayor says Christian faith played role in decision to switch party affiliation
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson cited his Christian faith as one of the reasons behind his decision to switch his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Johnson, who leads the ninth-largest city in the United States and the third-largest city in Texas, was a guest on last Monday’s edition of the “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast. He discussed the factors that motivated him to switch parties after winning reelection as Dallas mayor with more than 90% of the vote.
Johnson, an African American, described his decision as an “evolution” resulting from “coming to accept who I have always been and why I’ve struggled as a Democrat the whole time.” He described his transition as a “manifestation of problems I had been having with the Democratic Party because of who I am as a person for a long time.”
“I was raised in a … family that was very, very faith-oriented,” he explained. “The church was hugely important to us.”
Johnson recalled how, as a child, he “spent more time in church than really any place else.”
He added, “We’d go to church Sunday morning, stay almost all day, go home for just a couple of hours and come back for Sunday evening. We’d go to Bible class on Wednesday.”
While he acknowledged that he did not participate in the choir because he “couldn’t sing,” Johnson identified “song practice” as another staple of his childhood. Reiterating how he “spent a lot of time in the church,” he said he also spent “a lot of time with grandparents who were very, very, very about the Church of Christ” that he was raised in.
“My family wasn’t political at all,” Johnson added. He credited his family with instilling in him “a strong sense of just right, wrong” and teaching him “this is how you treat people,” “this is how you behave” and “you follow the law.”
Reflecting on the values his family taught him, Johnson remarked, “I think I was always politically in a weird posture with the Democratic Party.” He suggested that “you sort of inherit the Democratic Party as a cultural heirloom when you’re African American in this country.”
“It sort of gets handed to you as part of who you are,” he said. “I know I had … more phone calls with people distraught about this party switch than I ever would have gotten if I had told people that I was actually leaving the church.”
He characterized the disturbance with his “fit” with the Democratic Party as “inevitable” because of its “belief that how things turn out for you in this country are largely determined by things that are outside of your control” such as “the race you’re born, the neighborhood you’re born in.” Johnson condemned this philosophy as an excusal of “failures” and “successes” to “something that’s out of your control.”
“If you’re successful and you’re white male, it’s because of course you are,” he maintained. On the other hand, “if you’re unsuccessful as an African American, it’s, well, the deck was stacked against you.”
Johnson identified this philosophy as not “how I was raised” and “not how I was taught.” He stated that, on the contrary, “If I put the work in, I was told repeatedly over and over by people who didn’t look like me, who didn’t come from my community, ‘We’re proud of you and we’d like to give you more opportunity.’”
“The story of my life and then the rhetoric my party wanted me to put out there as the justification for what we were doing politically just never really matched,” he concluded.
Johnson announced his decision to switch parties in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published in September 2023. His move made Dallas the largest city in the U.S. to be led by a Republican.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
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Scattered storms are expected across much of North and Central Texas on Saturday. This activity means there is a threat for isolated flash flooding near and after sunset.
The National Weather Service Fort Worth/Dallas issued a bulletin about the forecast on Friday afternoon. According to the bulletin, scattered showers and storms will continue well into Saturday evening.
There will be a low chance for a few strong to severe storms capable of producing quarter-sized hail and gusty downburst winds along as west of Highway 281 on Saturday evening.
Slow-moving and training thunderstorms could lead to an increased flash flood threat generally along and north of I-20 near and after sunset. It shouldn’t rain all day on Saturday, but residents should stay weather aware.
Remember to never drive into water of unknown depth. The slogan is “Turn around, don’t drown” for a reason.
On Sunday, scattered storms will continue into the afternoon, primarily along and east of I-35. The main hazards will be locally heavy rainfall, lightning, and gusty winds.
After that, mostly sunny and dry conditions with highs in the 90s will return early next week. Heat index values could approach 100 degrees at times, so make sure to stay hydrated and cool.
There are little to no rain chances currently forecast next week.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Firefighters battled a fire Thursday night that left a home with more than $100,000 in damage.
Just before 11 p.m., June 4, Cherry Valley Fire Protection District was called out to the 5300 block of Dallas Court in Rockford for a report of smoke coming from a roof.
When crews arrived, they found heavy smoke outside and heavy fire conditions inside the home. Eight area departments responded to assist, and the fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.
No residents were home at the time of the blaze, and no one was hurt.
Cherry Valley Fire Protection District says the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.
Copyright 2026 WIFR. All rights reserved.
Based on what wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is saying about the Dallas Cowboys’ defense during OTAs, it would appear the unit might be moving in the right direction.
Of course, all eyes will be on Dallas’ defense this season after the unit was one of the worst in the NFL in 2025 and prevented the Cowboys from making the postseason.
Since then, the Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker and a bunch of new players on that side of the ball, which gives hope the unit can rebound and Dallas can get back to the playoffs.
When asked about the defense after OTAs practice on Thursday, Lamb called the Cowboys’ revamped unit “annoying” and “tricky.”
“It’s annoying. It’s been annoying to prepare against, but obviously just seeing it practice every day… it’s kind of unique, just seeing different guys communicate and being able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. It’s good to go against, it’s very tricky,” Lamb said, per DLLS Cowboys.
There’s a few positives to unpack from Lamb’s comment.
For starters, having stiffer competition from the defense in practice is going to help Dallas’ offense get even better.
To see that Lamb is even remotely bothered by the Cowboys’ unit and calls it “tricky” says a lot about the complexity of the defense and how difficult it will be for opposing offenses to figure it out.
Then, there’s the remark about the communication, which will be key for everyone getting on the same page and the defense moving as one, which is important with so many new pieces.
Now, does all of that mean we can lock the Cowboys’ defense in for an improved season? No, but it’s a positive sign that there is progress being made toward that goal.
Cowboys’ defense is key for 2026 season
Jerry Jones said it back in March and we couldn’t agree more: the Cowboys’ defense held the team back in 2025.
“I’ll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there’s no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would’ve had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run.”
Looking ahead to 2026, if the Cowboys want to get back to the playoffs, things have got to get much better on that side of the ball.
With an offense that stands to be elite, the defense doesn’t have to totally match that level of performance. Instead, we believe the Cowboys can get back to the postseason simply by sporting an average defense.
And, if the Cowboys can improve to a top-10 unit, it’s not crazy to think Dallas can compete for more than just a playoff spot this coming season.
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