Legal Commentary

In light of Senator Arlen Specter's decision to switch parties, readers may enjoy this list, which is now in need of updating, on senators who have switched parties during their terms of office.  In the modern era, they include Strom Thurmond (although my laptop is giving me an error message for putting "modern" and "Strom Thurmond" in the same sentence), Richard Shelby, and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, all of whom switched from Democratic to Republican.  The list omits those who switched from the Democratic to the Republican party while serving in the House or elsewhere and later served in the Senate, such as Jesse Helms, Trent Lott, Elizabeth Dole, Phil Gramm, Lauch Faircloth, and Norm Coleman; an expanded list can be found here.