photo by: Associated Press

TOPEKA — A Kansas lawmaker who was stripped of a committee leadership post after endorsing Democratic Gov.-elect Laura Kelly’s campaign has switched to the Democratic Party.

State Sen. Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills said Wednesday that the Republican Party no longer represents her values. Bollier said she had been a registered Republican for nearly 43 years.

Her move makes the Senate’s partisan split 29-10, with one independent.

In July, Senate President Susan Wagle removed Bollier as vice chairwoman of the Senate health committee after Bollier endorsed Kelly and a Democratic congressional candidate.

But Bollier said a key moment for her came in June when the Kansas GOP adopted a platform with what she sees as an anti-transgender provision. It declares, “We believe God created two genders, male and female.”