https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2010/05/18/126908830/senators-who-switched-parties-and-their-electoral-fate It’s interesting that the majority of them switch for “opportunism”. Direct Quotes: Plus, if we want to talk about opportunistic, how about someone like Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama? Elected twice to the Senate as a conservative Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party on Nov. 9, 1994 -- exactly one day after the GOP won control of Congress. By switching, Shelby remained in the majority. That is opportunistic. He won re-election as a Democrat in 1992 with 65 percent of the vote, and won two more terms as a Republican, with 63 percent in 1998 and 68 percent in 2004. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Democrat from Colorado, switched to the GOP on March 3, 1995, shortly after the Republicans took control of the Senate. Campbell was probably too independent for either party's taste but that didn't hurt him at the polls. In 1998, his first election sinc