Kitzenberg filed the paperwork at the secretary of state's office on Friday. Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson released a statement criticizing Kitzenberg's decision.
"To go before the voters in one team's colors only to change uniforms at halftime is not the way I would choose," Johnson said the statement. "I believe very strongly in informed voting; mid-cycle party switches work directly against that."
"You can call me Sam, Sam, the Democrat man," Kitzenberg said Friday.
Hew said he had been thinking about switching parties for about 12 years and made the decision after Sen. Mike Cooney, D-Helena, called him after the Nov. 7 elections.
"He called and said, 'Guess what? It's tied. I know you've mentioned changing parties in the past, and now is the time,'" Kitzenberg said.
He dismissed criticism from Republican colleagues who say the party switch occurred because the Democratic administration of Gov. Brian Schweitzer gave Kitzenberg a job as a Revenue Department analyst just months ago.
Peter Hellend, GOP chairman for Valley County, which includes Glasgow, said earlier this week that Kitzenberg's job and change in party affiliation "smelled of political payoff."
"The job I have now had nothing to do with this decision," Kitzenberg said. "I sat down and tried to figure out what was really important to me. It just came down to me realizing who my real friends were and where my heart was."
Kitzenberg said he looks forward to supporting several of Schweitzer's legislative proposals, such as funding for full-day kindergarten and for the university system.
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