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Earlier this week, Republican Cyrus Javadi, a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, announced that he was switching parties to join the Democrats. He stated his prime motivation:

The Republican Party abandoned the principles that drew me to it in the first place: limited government, fiscal responsibility, free speech, free trade, and, above all, the rule of law.

Such party flips, which have gone both ways in recent years, are rare, even in ordinary times — and rarer still in this era of hyperpolarization and lockstep party loyalty.

But Javadi’s move got me thinking. About the US House, Election 2026, and — as Jonathan Swift once famously put it in a 1729 satirical essay in which he suggested the poor of Ireland sell their kids to the rich for cooking and eating as a solution to poverty — a modest proposal. 

But, unlike Swift’s, a serious one.

Following this week’s special election victory and swearing in of Democrat James Walkinshaw (VA-11), the current partisan split of the House is 219 Republican, 213 Democrat. 

Another special election coming up later this month, in which a Democrat is heavily favored, should make it 219–214, with two seats still vacant — one a safe Democratic seat, the other a safe Republican seat, with the Democratic seat slated to be filled first.

At 219–214 (or 220–215), it would take just three Republicans following Javadi’s lead and switching parties for the Democrats to gain the majority, 217–216 (or 218–217). 

I doubt it would take them an hour to depose Trump ultra-sycophant Mike Johnson (R-LA) as speaker and then proceed with the taking over of key committees.

That would be a huge shift in federal power — resulting in not only a complete blockage of President Donald Trump’s agenda but also the acquisition of the powers of investigation and subpoena, to be aimed at the corruption and power-grabbing lawlessness of Trump’s executive branch. 

Not to overstate it, it could be the last best hope of stopping America’s rapid descent into authoritarianism and worse.

And it could happen now, or soon — long before the 2026 election, which Trump is endeavoring to rig by various means in order to keep his wholly owned and operated party in power and to keep his own ever-expanding power unconstrained.

You might ask what could possibly make any of those 219 House Republicans — at a time of military-grade party discipline — jump ship? But bear with me here.

I think it’s fair to rule out all the representatives from “safe” Republican districts — which, thanks to a combination of natural demographic sorting and ruthless gerrymandering — constitute the vast majority of the 219. 

But not all.

According to an analysis compiled by ProgressivePunch.org, there are 3 GOP House members from districts that lean Democratic, 16 from districts that lean Republican, and 11 from swing districts. That is a total of 30 Republican House members who, as currently handicapped, will face some sort of competitive election in November 2026. 

Many in this sizable group are solid MAGA, but at least a few are less gung ho. 

Jen Kiggans, Opportunity Knocks!

To take one example, let’s look at GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans (VA-2). Kiggans was an appealing candidate, a former Navy helicopter pilot and a geriatric nurse practitioner, who was serving in the Virginia Senate when she ran for the US House seat in 2022. Her district is a classic swing district: She defeated incumbent Democrat Elaine Luria by the slim margin of 3.4 percent (51.6 to 48.2) and was reelected in 2024 by virtually the same slender margin (50.7 to 46.9).

Kiggans is also relatively moderate, as Trump-era Republicans go, earning an overall Progressive Score for her House tenure of 17.03 percent. Which does not seem all that “liberal” or even “moderate,” but which turns out to rank 8th highest among all 219 House Republicans.

The Washington Post noted that “[h]er record didn’t always fit neatly along a party line.” For example, she voted to expand nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people and in favor of environmental protection measures.

Like virtually all Republicans, Kiggans has had to tack sharply right in her voting thus far in Trump’s second term, when any departures from strict party discipline — which means total loyalty to Trump — are punished severely, not only by the chamber’s leadership but by threats, made by Trump himself, to field and fund primary opponents. 

Earlier this year, before their epic falling out, even Elon Musk got into the act, with broad threats to lavishly fund primary opponents against any and all straying congressional Republicans.

So now imagine you’re Jen Kiggans and looking toward the 2026 election. You know it’s going to be tight; you know the GOP does not hold trifecta control of Virginia’s state government, so you can forget about Texas-style redistricting coming to your aid; and you know that if you cross Trump at any point you’re likely toast — hit with a primary opponent in addition to whomever the Democrats run against you.

You also know a few other things: 1) The president’s party generally loses seats in the midterms, and those losses come from the relatively small batch of swing and lean districts like yours; 2) The Democrats’ lead in the generic congressional ballot is hovering between 4 and 5 percent, bad news for Republicans in swing districts; 3) Trump is somewhere between 10 and 20 points underwater in approval, and that is territory that can turn those ordinary midterm losses into a rout and should make any incumbent from a swing district and the unpopular president’s party, like yourself, very nervous.

It remains to be seen whether Trump’s slow bleed in the polls continues, is stanched and rebounds, or turns into a hemorrhage. But you can see that Trump has shown little or no interest in broadening his appeal beyond his base, while he builds more and more power at the expense of his popularity. 

As a result of all this, right now your prospects of reelection are likely not much better than 50–50. They’d be at least as good, and probably significantly better, as a Democrat! From a strictly careerist perspective, it’s a great move.

There’s also this: You were a Navy pilot and probably have, privately at least, a very dim view of what Trump is trying to do to the military. You’re likely no fan of the Pentagon purges, political appointments, extrajudicial blowing up of boats, or, for that matter, sexist Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

And you are a geriatric nurse practitioner and probably have, privately at least, a very dim view of what Trump and his “run wild” anti-vaxxer secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are doing to public health. You’re probably no great fan of Medicaid and Medicare cuts and hospital closures. Their relentless attack on women’s reproductive health probably leaves you cold.

But there’s zero room for these views in your lockstep, Trump-owned party — no opportunity to express publicly what distresses and concerns you privately. Not as a Republican. Not anymore.

Consider Yourself … One of Us (Sing It!)

OK, so now imagine we’re the Democratic Party leadership, and we’re on the talent recruitment committee. Do we take a run at Jen Kiggans? You’re damn right we do!

We begin by offering her the moon, and sweeten the deal from there: “Come be a Democrat,” we coo, “and we pledge we won’t primary you, ever. And we think you’d make a great senator in a few years when old Mark Warner steps down. Did you say something about the Appropriations Committee? Done! Here you go, plenty of bucks for your upcoming campaigns — just say when!

“And here’s the best part, Jen: You won’t have to swallow your gorge and keep voting for things you secretly abhor, like the military turned loose on US cities! Yes, of course, there’s some party discipline, but, well, we’re Democrats! So unlike your present party, we’re not running a supermax prison here; we’ll give you some breathing room!”

If you’re Jen Kiggans, do you find the package appealing? You bet you do! 

The Democrats might not have you at hello, but if they keep piling the goodies on the tray, and if Trump keeps dropping in the polls, taking the leap starts to make all kinds of sense!

Do it for yourself. Do it in the interest of the country you love, the country you see Trump destroying, while you’ve been biting your tongue and wearing out your rubber stamp. 

Perhaps you can take inspiration from the motto displayed above the chapel doors of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD: Non sibi sed patriae (Not for self, but for country). Though in this case it would work out for both you and America.

Who Else?

Are there at least two more Jen Kigganses among those 30 — a handful of House Republicans facing more or less competitive elections and/or seething with disgust? 

Remember the verdict of Cyrus Javadi, as previously mentioned and worth repeating: 

The Republican Party abandoned the principles that drew me to it in the first place: limited government, fiscal responsibility, free speech, free trade, and, above all, the rule of law. 

One suspects that sentiment is not Javadi’s alone.

Consider a few of the Republicans who could, and should, be receptive:

Rep. Don Bacon (NE-2), who represents a “Lean Democratic” district and has a career Progressive Score of 12.81 percent, ranked 17th of 219 among Republicans; 

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6), from a swing district, ranked 10th with a score of 16.73; 

Rep. Zachary Nunn (IA-3), also from a swing district, ranked 14th with a score of 14.72; 

Even Rep. David Valadao (CA-22), from a “Lean Republican” district (which may wind up leaning Democratic if California’s retaliatory redistricting plan goes through this November), ranked 25th with a score of 10.66.

There are others, but you get the idea. 

It has surely not escaped their notice how dramatically Democrats all over the country have been overperforming baseline expectations in just about every special election. These Republicans know they are in trouble. 

If Trump’s polling sinks any further, they could well be seeing the handwriting on the wall foretelling a blue wave, or tsunami, that sweeps most or all of those competitive districts into the Democratic column, costing them their seats and possibly their political careers.

Might not the Democratic Party, offering shelter from that coming storm, have a good case — good enough to make the sale with three or more of these vulnerable Republicans? 

Before the 2026 election, so as to have some say in the conduct (and perhaps the aftermath) of that election; prevent the passage of the odious, voter-suppressing, anti-democratic SAVE Act; and give that crucial election a better chance of being free and fair. 

Stranger things have happened. Why not sound them out? Why not trot out your own version of The Art of the Deal? 

There’s nothing really to lose and a country to gain.