A former Senate candidate from Pasadena lost faith and left the Republican party Thursday, just hours after the death of Terri Schiavo.

"They let the Democrats walk all over them," said David K. Kyle of his former party. He said filed the change with the state Board of Elections for several reasons, and is now registered as an Independent.

Mr. Kyle said he has been growing increasingly upset with the Republican party, of which he was a member since 1987, but said Ms. Schiavo's death was "the last straw."

In a statement released Thursday Mr. Kyle hammered Republican leaders like Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. and President...