If Rep. Aaron Pena hoped he was going to be the first rat to jump ship, tough luck: Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, had announced he is quitting the Democratic party and joining the House Republicans, giving them the supermajority they craved.

Here's Ritter's statement:

In order to best reflect the views of the majority of the people of District 21, I have decided to change my party affiliation. I believe this will allow me to more accurately and effectively represent my constituents while addressing the challenges facing our state. There will be a formal announcement this Tuesday in Austin.

He's also told KFDM news that in the last decade his district went "from a solid Democratic district to a solid Republican district."

Hmm. Time for some fact checking. In the last election:
1: Jefferson county returned two Democratic state reps, Ritter and his neighbor Joe Deshotel.
2: Jefferson voters broke 50.47% for Gov. Rick Perry, 48.15% for Bill White. So White actually performed better there than he did statewide, where he only got 42.28%.
3: According to the Jefferson County Clerk, there were more straight-ticket voting Democrats than Republicans.