A Michigan Democrat is refusing to caucus with her own party in the state Legislature, citing a major "disconnect" with voters after the party refused to pivot on key issues following a 2024 loss.
State Rep. Karen Whitsett revealed on "Faulkner Spotlight" Thursday why she declined to join Democrats in the 2025-2026 legislative session.
How Kamala Harris's failed 2024 presidential bid mirrored her ill-fated 2020 campaign
"I'm not going to caucus with them because of their talking points and the disconnect between them," Whitsett told Harris-Faulkner. "They're still using the same rhetoric that failed them in the campaign, so Why should I attend a caucus with a completely unrelated group?
"I know how to read a bill, so I don't need someone to tell me how to vote," she continued. "Obviously, they've messed up the whole voting system, so why should I do that? I'm better off alone, reading my bill, and getting things done for my district."
On November 1, 2024, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visited The Great Commoner Cafe in Dearborn, Michigan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Whitsett also told The Detroit News that another reason she won't attend the Democratic caucuses is her close working relationship with Republican House Speaker Matt Hall.
She noted that her left-wing colleagues might accuse her of leaking information to Republicans if she caucused with them, and that she had never previously caucused regularly with her own party.
Whitsett, who has supported President Joe Biden but has previously met with President-elect Donald Trump, told Faulkner she "completely understands" Trump's history of gaining access to communities of color in the 2024 election Sexual support, and these people historically vote dark blue.
Fox News Voter Analysis: How Trump can return to the White House
"I totally understand," Whitsett said. "Now, do people like it or expect it or accept it? Absolutely not. Because you're a black woman in Lansing and you're actually living in an old white man's world. So, there's no hearing about being able to be on the other side of the aisle. No one really likes it when you're working on the side, but if I were white, they would just give me a pat on the back and they'd say, 'Good job.'"
Fox News' voter analysis shows that Trump's crossover appeal to Democratic voters is fundamental to his success. He improved in 2020 among Hispanic voters (41%, +6 points), black voters (15%, +7 points) and young voters (46%, +10 points).
Since 2020, these shifts to the right have been particularly pronounced among Hispanic men (+8 points), Black men (+12 points), and men under 30 (+14 points).
Fox News' Chris Pandorf contributed to this report.
Click here to get the Fox News app