EXCLUSIVE—Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett is stepping away from political office, saying her Christian faith no longer aligns with today's Democratic Party after years of clashes over abortion, transgender issues and party leadership.
Whitsett, who represents parts of north and northwest Detroit in the 4th House District, announced in March that she would not be seeking re-election or run for office again, calling the choice to walk away a "spiritual decision."
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Whitsett said she could no longer support the Democratic Party. Over the past four years, she found herself increasingly at odds with party leaders for pushing policies she felt were incompatible with her beliefs.
"I don’t understand how ‘Christian’ and ‘Bible’ go together [with] ‘Democratic Party,’" she added. "What I’ve seen over these last four years is nothing that I’ve ever seen before, nothing that I ever thought would happen before."
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"For me, it is impossible to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ while remaining a member of the Democratic Party as it exists today. I cannot reconcile that platform with Scripture," Whitsett also recently told Click on Detroit.
"I don’t have a heaven or hell to put anyone in. Only God does. But I do have God’s unwavering Word to stand on, and I can no longer compromise it to fit a party platform or to please people," she continued.
Whitsett said she repeatedly warned party leadership not to force her hand on issues including abortion and LGBTQ policies.
"I just sincerely kept asking, please do not back me into a corner. Please do not back me into a corner. Please do not keep pushing LGBTQ agenda. Please do not keep pushing the abortion agenda," Whitsett told Fox News Digital.
"I said, ‘You’re going to keep pushing me, you’re going to back me into a corner, and I’m going to have to stand my ground, and you’re not going to like it,'" Whitsett explained.
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In 2023, Whitsett faced backlash from fellow Democrats after declining to support legislation that would have lifted restrictions on using state Medicaid funds to cover most abortions.
She said her opposition to abortion laws without safeguards or term limits and transgender policies stemmed directly from her Christian faith.
"I don’t want to go to hell," she added. "That’s just the bottom line. And right now, people are on that wide path, and you’re compromising, and it’s a very slippery slope."
She regards Michigan law allowing people to change their gender between male and female without medical documentation, or to have their gender listed as "X" on their driver’s license, as an example of a gender policy going too far.
"I’m just a firm believer, and I’m just very blunt about it: I’m not a co-signer of crazy," she said. "I’m not going to do it. That’s your reality. That’s the world that you want to live in. And I don’t have a problem with that. You can do all of that and be all that you want. But when you try to force it on me and make it my reality, now we have a problem."
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She said Democratic leadership increasingly left no room for dissent, even on bills she believed would benefit her constituents.
"They don’t want you to disagree with anything," Whitsett said. "There are numerous things that can be in bills, and they’ll say, no, don’t do it. I’m not going back to my district to say I didn’t vote for something that was beneficial for them. So I had no problem with standing up and taking the vote and I would be the only one, and I didn’t care."
Whitsett said her first major break with the party came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she opposed vaccine mandates and argued medical decisions should remain personal.
"I absolutely cannot take the flu shot," she said, explaining that she has chronic Lyme Disease. "And there are people who will literally lose their jobs if they do not take the flu shot. And I just think that has to be a personal choice. So it started with things like that."
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Whitsett met with President Donald Trump at the White House in April 2020 to discuss her experience recovering from COVID-19. She credited the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for aiding her recovery and publicly thanked Trump, leading to a formal censure by the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization.
Trump offered his support for Whitsett at the time and even invited her to join the Republican Party in a post on X. Whitsett told Fox News Digital that Trump remained in contact with her after the controversy and said his support helped her weather political attacks from within her own party.
"The president is pretty awesome about it because he would always call and check on me," she said. "I talked to him numerous times, and he followed me, followed my campaign, always checked on how things were in the community."
Now, she says she believes God is calling her into a different chapter outside elected office.
"God has called me to move in a different direction. And I definitely want to try to lead people back to a biblical foundation," Whitsett told Fox News Digital.
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After leaving office next January when her term ends, she hopes to partner with the Trump administration on projects focused on Black families, homeownership and getting people off public assistance.
Whitsett said she has experience terminating a pregnancy and being on welfare herself, so she knows the struggles some people in her community face, but believes abortion and welfare have only hurt the Black community long-term.
"So these are things I would really like to be able to assist with, because I don't think it should be taken for granted that you're just going to get assistance and that you are going to make a living off of it," Whitsett said.
Whitsett said she can't see herself voting for a Democratic candidate in the future.
"I cannot support the Democratic Party," she said, adding that her goal is to raise awareness about what the party supports and encourage voters to choose candidates that reflect their values.
"I want people to think for themselves and right now they're not doing that. They're just voting straight Democrat," she added.
Michigan House Democratic Rep. and former House Speaker Joe Tate, who recently announced he is not seeking re-election, did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
