A west Alabama district attorney has switched from the Democratic to the Republican party.
A statement from the Alabama GOP says Chris McCool is making the jump. He is the chief state prosecutor for Fayette, Lamar and Pickens counties.
McCool says he has been considering making the switch for some time. He says he is conservative, and it's clear to him there is no longer a place for him in the Democratic Party.
GOP Chairman Bill Armistead says more than 50 conservative Democrats have now switched to the Democratic Party since he became chairman.
McCool is a past president of the Alabama District Attorney's Association. He was appointed district attorney in 2001 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2010 without opposition.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.