candidate from another party. Miller and Koch, though Democrats, supported Republican George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, while Powell and Leach supported Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. This received much media attention in 2004, when Democrats for Bush and Republicans for Kerry groups were formed. In New Hampshire, former Republican Governor Walter Peterson has expressly supported Democrat John Lynch in his bids for governor. In Virginia, the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction, Linwood Holton, has since 2001 frequently supported Democrats in statewide races – his son-in-law, Tim Kaine, has been elected to the governorship and the U.S. Senate in that time, and served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President in the 2016 election – and endorsed Barack Obama in 2008. Similarly, in 1860, former Democratic President Martin Van Buren ended up supporting Abraham Lincoln due to Van Buren's disagreements with Democratic policies on secession. Other examples include former Republican Senator from Minnesota David Durenberger supporting John Kerry in 2004 and former Democratic Attorney General Griffin Bell supporting George W. Bush in 2004. Moreover, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Democrat Mike Espy endorsed incumbent Republican Governor of Mississippi Haley Barbour for reelection in 2007. During Donald Trump's presidency one governor and two congressmen switched parties due mostly to their support or opposition to the president's policies. On August 3, 2017, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that he had rejoined the Republican Party after having been elected as a Democrat less than a year prior. He made the announcement at a rally in Huntington alongside Trump and claimed that he was returning to the GOP because he could not help the president while he was a Democrat. The announcement came as a surprise even to his own staff. This also made Justice the first Republican governor of West Virginia since Cecil Underwood in 2001. In 2019, Democratic congressman Jefferson H. Van Drew left the party because of his opposition to Trump's first impeachment and his own political beliefs. Both Justice and Van Drew were reelected as Republicans in 2020. Conversely, Republican congressman Justin Amash of Michigan left the GOP to become an independent on July 4, 2019 due to his opposition to Trump. Later Amash joined the Libertarian Party in 2020 and did not seek reelection. Motivations Politicians may switch parties if they believe their views are no longer aligned