In 2008, Jean Perry left the GOP and joined the Democratic Party as part of her support for Barack Obama. Four years later, she voted to re-elect him.

This year, she’s a Republican again. And she’s an enthusiastic delegate for Donald Trump.

“I’m a flipper,” said the resident of Baldwin Hills, southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

“Barack Obama was right for his time. He broke a ceiling.

“I believe Donald Trump is right for this time.”

An appeal across party lines is what many Trump backers predict will carry their candidate to victory in November. Perry represents that type of voter — one who responds to individual candidates.

“He’s willing to say what other people are thinking but won’t say,” said Perry, 69, a retired elementary school teacher who also was the first black reporter at New York’s Daily News in the 1970s. “He’s voicing my thoughts.

“Because of the times and the economy — I don’t think we’ve ever recovered from the recession — we need a business person. We need somebody who can bring back jobs.”

She said Trump could bring in experts to advise him on issues he’s less familiar with, adding she hoped he would place a renewed emphasis on vocational education because some people aren’t suited for college.

As for Obama’s two terms leading the country, Perry wouldn’t say whether or not she was satisfied with the job he’s done.

“I don’t believe in looking back and analyzing,” she said.

Virus watch

A dozen California convention staffers have the norovirus and have been isolated in their rooms until they are healthy, state delegates were told at their breakfast meeting Tuesday.

The contagious intestinal virus is thought to have come from California with the staffers. There were no reports Tuesday of delegates or alternates showing symptoms or being infected.

Delegates were told to wash their hand frequently and to report any intestinal illness promptly. They also were told that if they got sick, they should not ride on the buses that transport the state delegates to and from their hotel but call the delegation staff for a car.

The virus causes extreme vomiting and diarrhea and has been known to speed through people in closed places, such as cruise ships, schools and nursing homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The delegates from California are staying at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, nearly 60 miles away from Cleveland.

Kasich mum on Trump

Ohio Gov. John Kasich filled the 2,000-capacity Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with supporters on Tuesday afternoon, and you couldn’t guess from his speech that his party’s nominating convention was being held a mile away.

Donald Trump? Not mentioned. A presidential election in November? Not a peep.

Kasich was one of the last three Republican candidates, before he and Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race in May.

Kasich, whose campaign emphasized job creation and a balanced budget, was the most moderate of the final candidates and many polls showed him the strongest GOP contender against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

But Kasich said he had no regrets as he thanked his supporters, who were treated to live classic rock and free food and drinks.

“I’ve never been more satisfied with my life,” he said.

He has no plans to appear at the convention, which prompted Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to say Kasich was “embarrassing his party.”

Kasich acted like he’d never heard the criticism, emphasizing his campaign hewed to “the things I believe in. The things you believe in have to come from your soul.”

He didn’t mention his weak primary results when explaining his decision to drop out of the primary.

“To go forward, I would have had to tell people things that weren’t true,” he said.

Kasich was warmly received, even among some of his supporters were now backing Trump.

“My candidate is no longer in the race,” Ohio delegate Tracey Winbush said of her decision.

Any reservations about her party’s nominee?

“He’s better than Hillary,” Winbush said.

Late night, some diversion

After a long first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday, California delegates arrived back at the Sandusky resort on buses around midnight to food stations and an open bar.

That probably explains why, after a packed brunch on Monday morning, breakfast in the Kalahari Ballroom was only about a third full Tuesday morning.

Amrit Bhandari of Irvine wasn’t complaining.

“It was a very long day and a great day,” said Bhandari, an alternate delegate who was among the first to show up for breakfast.

Delegates had the option Tuesday of going to the nearby Cedar Point theme park (owned by the same company that owns Knotts Berry Farm), the Football Hall of Fame or sleeping in. An informal survey of hallway activity indicated many took advantage of the latter option.