diff --git a/lib/rangy-core.js b/lib/rangy-core.js
index dafb1ce1..8eda3de2 100644
--- a/lib/rangy-core.js
+++ b/lib/rangy-core.js
@@ -2034,10 +2034,10 @@
 
                     var mergeForward = function(node) {
                         var sibling = node.nextSibling;
-                        if (sibling && sibling.nodeType == node.nodeType) {
+                        if (sibling) {
+                            node.appendData(sibling.textContent);
                             ec = node;
                             eo = node.length;
-                            node.appendData(sibling.data);
                             removeNode(sibling);
                         }
                     };
@@ -3842,4 +3842,4 @@
     }
 
     return api;
-}, this);
\ No newline at end of file
+}, this);