COLUMBIA - State Rep. John J. "Bubber" Snow switched to the Republican Party because his district has changed, he said Wednesday.

Snow, 74, of Hemingway, said House District 103, which includes most of western Georgetown County and a small part of Williamsburg County near his residence, was changed dramatically in reapportionment.

He ran unopposed two years ago, the first election after redistricting.

Last week, when two Democrats said they would run against him in the primary, he decided his chances would be better as a Republican in the general election.

"I've lost my largest base of people," around Hemingway where he lives and grew up, Snow said. And new areas in Kensington and Black River tend to vote Republican in the general elections and seldom vote in Democratic primaries.

His former voters around his home base also often vote Republican and probably won't hold it against him for switching parties, Snow said.

"I like to think that after 22 years, they'll look at what I've accomplished," he said.

He cited a community health care center at Choppee as a recent example.

Carl Anderson and Morris Johnson, the two Democrats who filed to challenge him, are black, and the district is 58 percent black. But Snow, who is white, has won against black candidates before.

He said he doesn't want the election to take on racial overtones, but the fact that two black Democrats filed against him after the party leadership agreed no incumbents would be challenged opened the door to his decision to leave the party.

Democratic Party leaders say they are disappointed that Snow switched, but he was warmly received by the House Republican Caucus.