They were in the room when the decisions were made. They saw the transcripts before they were redacted. Now, a wave of former Trump administration officials is completely flipping the switch and switching sides as they prepare to run for office as, wait for it… anti-MAGA Democrats.
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As the 2026 midterms approach, a distinct group of former Trump-era loyalists has joined the Great Realignment— a massive shift in Congress where traditional party loyalties are melting like fish grease in a hot pan and ideological lines are being redrawn. From a former deputy legal advisor to the National Security Council to an ex-Mike Pence aide, these Republicans are setting their sights on bluer skies.
These former Republicans are attempting to bridge the partisan divide, arguing that the only way to save America is to empower the very opposition they once fought against.
We gathered eight former Trump loyalists who traded in their red jersey for a blue one, and now want your vote in November.
Olivia Troye
Olivia Troye built her career as a Republican national security aide, serving in the Trump administration as a top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence.
After years as a top advisor, she finally walked away with a total political identity shift that saw her go from the inner circle of the GOP to a prominent voice on the Democratic campaign trail.
Olivia Troye
Her breaking point wasn’t a single headline, but a steady accumulation of moments inside the West Wing where she felt the mission had drifted dangerously off course.
After walking away from the right, she has fully realigned politically. Her evolution culminated in a run for Congress as a Democrat, framing her shift as a matter of national security and morally imperative.
Troye, who has become one of the most visible faces of a new movement, announced her congressional run in Virginia’s 7th congressional district on April 14.
J.P. Cooney
For years, J.P. Cooney was a key figure in the federal investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, serving as a veteran federal prosecutor and top deputy to Special Counsel Jack Smith.
However, his efforts to hold the president accountable landed him without a job after Trump fired him in early 2025. That pink slip was all he needed and was an immediate catalyst for change. He is now running for Congress in Virginia as a Democrat.
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan
Geoff Duncan, elected as a Republican as lieutenant governor of Georgia from 2019 to 2023, spent years as a rising star in the Georgia GOP; that is until he eventually realized the party he loved had transformed into something he no longer recognized.
After standing his ground against pressure to overturn the 2020 election results, he found himself an outsider in his own house. So, he took matters into his own hands. He walked away from Republicans, officially joined Dems in 2025 and announced his bid for Georgia governor.
George T. Conway
George Conway built his career as a conservative attorney and longtime Republican, known for his ties to the Federalist Society and his early support for GOP legal causes. He initially backed Trump in 2016 but soon became one of the most prominent conservative critics of Trump, co-founding the Lincoln Project—an action committee led by former Republicans dedicated to defeating Trump-ism at the ballot box— and arguing that Trump’s conduct was incompatible with constitutional principles.
His break with Trump was ideological and public, even while his wife, Kellyanne Conway, took the opposite path. A seasoned Republican pollster and strategist, she became a key architect of Trump’s 2016 victory as his campaign manager and later served as a senior counselor in the White House.
George T. Conway
After years of waging a one-man war against the administration on social media, Conway finally stepped away from the GOP and registered as a Democrat. (Speaking of walking away, he also divorced Kellyanne Conway in 2023 after 22 years of marriage.)
He’s now jumped into the race for New York’s 12th Congressional District, aiming to fill the seat left vacant by Jerry Nadler hoping to convince voters he’s the right candidate who knows how the other side really thinks.
While Conway moved sharply away from Trump, Kellyanne remained one of his most loyal defenders.
Eugene Vindman
Similar to J.P. Cooney, Eugene Vindman was unceremoniously fired from the White House and pushed out of the military after being a key whistleblower regarding the 2019 phone call that sparked Trump’s impeachment in his first term.
The former army colonel decided to channel his frustrations into a run for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District as a Democrat. He’s betting that his background in the room where it happened will resonate with voters who are exhausted of the political chaos and looking for a fierce guardian of the Constitution.
Denver Riggleman
Denver Riggleman’s journey from a Republican Congressman to a prominent Democratic ally was paved with a refusal to ignore the data—literally.
As a former Air Force intelligence officer and a key advisor to the January 6th Select Committee, Riggleman spent years tracking extremism and disinformation within the party he once represented.
Denver Riggleman
When his own local party censured him for officiating a same-sex wedding, he decided to leave his party and operate as an Independent working alongside Democratic leadership in the 2026 Blue Migration— a historic wave of Republicans and former Trump administration officials defecting to the Democratic ticket ahead of the midterms.
David Jolly
Former Florida congressman David Jolly once served as a Republican in the U.S. House from 2014 to 2017. After leaving office, he became an increasingly vocal critic of Trump, arguing that Trump’s grip on the GOP was reshaping the party in ways he just couldn’t get with.
David Jolly
Jolly formally broke with Republicans in 2018, and seven years later he completed that shift, registering as a Democrat and launching a campaign for Florida governor.
Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci briefly served as White House communications director under Trump in 2017, a tenure that lasted just 11 turbulent days but cemented his early reputation as a loyal Trump ally.
In the years that followed, he became one of Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics, citing concerns about character, governance and the direction of the party. Though he has not formally run as a Democrat, he has increasingly aligned himself with centrist and Democratic causes, framing his shift as a response to what he sees as a fundamental change in the GOP.
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