Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson spent over a decade in office as a Democrat before making a significant political shift. 

Just over a year ago, he announced his decision to join the Republican Party. 

Johnson wrote in a Fox News op-ed that his switch should have been a wake-up call for Democrats ahead of the 2024 election. 

“It turns out I was kind of a canary in the coal mine, right? I didn’t think I was going to be some anomaly that everyone needed to worry about,” Johnson told “Fox & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones, Wednesday. 

EX-DNC VOLUNTEER TURNED TRUMP VOTER MOCKS CLAIMS THAT HARRIS RAN A FLAWLESS CAMPAIGN

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April 22, 2020: File photo shows Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson responding to a question during a news conference. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

“I thought I was going to be a harbinger of things to come. And it turns out, that was exactly right.” 

Dallas is a predominantly blue area, voting for President Joe Biden in 2020 by over half. With Johnson’s change, Dallas became the largest U.S. city led by a Republican mayor. 

He joined Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker as one of only two Republican mayors leading a major Texas city. Johnson attributes this to a broader realignment in cultural dynamics across the country, a change he credits to President-elect Trump.

“Donald Trump has given the Republican Party a gift,” Johnson explained. “He has caused parts of the Democratic coalition, that people thought would never, ever consider voting Republican, to do exactly that.”

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One of the key factors behind Trump’s resounding victory in 2024 was his surge in support from minority groups, particularly Hispanic voters. In Texas, Republicans experienced a 28% increase in Latino support compared to the 2020 election.

Trump also made inroads with Black voters and young voters, significantly narrowing traditional Democratic advantages.

“I think now is an opportunity for the Republican Party to double down on his message,” said Johnson, describing Trump’s focus as one aimed at revitalizing U.S. cities.

“An agenda for urban America. That is what these groups are hoping that’s going to happen now,” Johnson explained. 

“They believe that Donald Trump, our president-elect, can actually deliver on the promise of making our cities great again. And he can, and I think he will.” 

DEM PARTY BLAME GAME: ACCUSATIONS FLY AS TO WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HARRIS’ MASSIVE LOSS TO TRUMP

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According to Fox News’ voter analysis of the 2024 election, Republican voters were most driven by concerns over the economy, immigration, and crime — issues Johnson argues have been neglected under Democratic leadership.

“All the things that people have been asking for generations from our cities that have under Democratic leadership … failed to deliver on those things.”

A vocal advocate for law enforcement funding, lower taxes, and a pro-business environment, Johnson has made his policy priorities clear and says he’d like to help the president-elect enact his agenda over the next four years.

“The Republican Party shouldn’t give up on our cities. We need to actually invest in them and focus on them. And I think that’s what he’s going to do and I want to help him do that.”

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Madison is a production assistant for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.

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Authorities in Los Angeles County are searching for a teenage girl they say could be at risk.

According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, 13-year-old Aleah Ashley Salgado was last seen at 11 p.m. Friday night on the 3000 block of East Avenue H-2 in Lancaster.

Authorities say her family is concerned for her well being.

Salgado was described as Hispanic, 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, with long black wavy hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, grey sweatpants and black shoes.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Lancaster Station at 661-948-8466.

A Santa Clarita man was charged with dealing a drug three times more powerful than fentanyl, causing one fatal overdose, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Arraigned on Wednesday, Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, was charged with one count of distribution of protonitazene that resulted in what the DOJ says could be the nation’s first death-resulting criminal case involving this narcotic.

The indictment alleges Collins knowingly and intentionally dealt protonitazene to a victim in the early morning hours of April 19, 2024. The DOJ only identified the victim as a 22-year-old man from Stevenson Ranch.

The Los Angeles Times reports that hours before his death, the victim called Collins asking for Percocet pills, and Collins sold him five oxycodone pills for $20 each. 

Also included in the L.A. Times’ report was a recount of text messages between the two before the drug deal that were shown in court documents: “I need real Perc’s tho…. Cuz my boy just died…. I get worried,” texted the victim. 

According to the report, Collins responded by saying, “yeah bro same with my best friend bro. He just died 3 days ago. Off fake pills.” He also then said, “those fake Perc’s get you . . I test all my [expletive] … negative evry time.”

Soon after the deal, the DOJ says the 22-year-old took the pills in the front seat of his car and quickly died. His mother found him parked outside her home and called 911, officials say.

“In recent years, protonitazene has been sold over the internet and is believed to be several times more powerful than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times stronger than heroin,” the DOJ wrote in a statement released Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization, protonitazene and other “nitazenes” were first synthesized in the late 1950s as “novel opioid alternatives to morphine,” but were soon abandoned and never approved for medical use.

The DOJ says Collins, in addition to giving the victim the pills that ended his life, had planned on also selling him a bulk supply of the same drugs in the future.

Collins was arrested on Monday, Nov. 18, and he pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. He is scheduled for a trial date in January, and meanwhile is being held without bail.

If convicted, Collins would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.