Richard Shelby was a lifelong Democrat until 1994. He was even elected to US Senate as a Dem. He switched to Republican as a sitting Dem Senator. Probably Not to be trusted! He was also a factor in Doug Jones getting into the US Senate for AL. NYT (Dec. 10, 2017): On Sunday, though, it was not an out-of-state liberal who offered an unexpected lift to Mr. Jones. Senator Richard C. Shelby, perhaps the most prominent of Alabama Republicans, made a rare national television appearance to excoriate Roy S. Moore, the Republican nominee and his would-be Senate colleague.