Evan Alvarez

The night before Evan Alvarez, 21, resigned from his position as chairman of the Mississippi Federation of College Republicans at Mississippi State University was a quiet one. He turned off his computer and his phone and sat in silence to give himself some time to think.

“It was a good feeling, because I knew I was making the right decision,” Alvarez said. “I had to evaluate what life was about and what politics were about.”

A political science major at Mississippi State University, Alvarez discovered his interest in politics during a “God Bless America” play at his elementary school when he was only 8 years old, in which he played the role of former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott. Alvarez said that even as a kid he often found himself watching the news and knew that he would want to pursue a political career as an adult.

While running for chairman of the MFCR, Alvarez’s goal was to raise funds for the organization and help set up chapters on African American college campuses around the state. He didn’t manage to achieve his goals, and soon found out that they were also not the goals of everyone in the party. That realization, combined with some of the Tea Partiers in the group calling him a racial slur for his Cuban heritage, led to Alvarez’s decision to become a member of the Democratic Party last Monday, a process that he said was fairly easy.

“I just went to their office, and they gave me a lapel pin, and that was it,” Alvarez said. “They were very welcoming.”

The Democratic Party took to Twitter, welcoming Alvarez with open arms, which he said left him very surprised. Alvarez is proud of the decision he made and said that he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Republican Party after his switch. Now that he is a Democrat, Alvarez said that he wants to take to a backseat on politics for a while and focus primarily on school, while also helping with strategy and voter outreach. He plans to attend law school after he earns his undergraduate degree, and become a lobbyist for St. Jude Children’s hospital.

“I’m also hoping to become the Hispanic outreach director for the Young Democrats of Mississippi,” Alvarez said. “I’m just keeping my options open.”