New Bedford City Councilor Leo Choquette has had enough of the Democratic Party, officially switching his enrollment and joining the Republican Party this week.

Choquette emphasized fiscal responsibility as the main driver behind his switch in party affiliation. With economic development concerns in his city, along with soaring housing and energy costs statewide, Choquette says he would be “better suited” as a Republican to tackle the fiscal concerns of New Bedford residents.

“I’ve probably, overnight, gone from being the most conservative Democrat in Massachusetts to being the most liberal Republican in Massachusetts,” Choquette told the Herald. “In order to get done what I want to get done and to achieve what I think is right for people in the City of New Bedford, like small business development and economic growth, these are the things that the MassGOP is going to help me work toward.”

He also went on to criticize Democrats at the state level, particularly Gov. Maura Healey, for multiple economic concerns across Massachusetts, including waning economic competitiveness by the state along with soaring energy and housing costs that seem to have no end in sight.

“I’ve been doing a lot of research lately comparing Charlie Baker to Maura Healey. Now, I know there are people in the Republican Party who aren’t fans of Charlie Baker, but I’m going to tell you right now that looking back on his performance as governor, based on metrics surrounding job growth, job creation and economic strength by state, when Baker was in there, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was in the top ten for those things, across multiple sectors, especially in technology and the medical industry. Under Maura Healey, this has translated to Massachusetts being close to the worst in the country,” Choquette said.

“When you have states like West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi outperforming Massachusetts in job growth it is bad. We are driving away the amazing brains and businesses and infrastructure and we’re giving it to the deep south? That’s a problem.” he said.

The Massachusetts Republican Party released a statement on Tuesday, saying Choquette is the second City Councilor from New Bedford to join the GOP. City Councilor Shawn Oliver switched his resignation from unenrolled to Republican in August.

“The Republican Party is growing because voters are looking for leaders who will put affordability, public safety, and accountability first,” said MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale.

Choquette is a New Bedford native who works in the financial services industry. He was elected to the New Bedford City Council in 2023.