Republicans Welcome Florida Democrat State Rep Susan Valdés Switch To GOP
By George Rasley
Only a week ago, Florida State Representative Susan Valdés was campaigning to chair the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, on Monday she switched parties and will join the Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives.
Her party change is effective immediately, according to reporting by Janelle Irwin Taylor for FloridaPolitics.com.
“Our Speaker, Rep. Daniel Perez, has laid out a vision for the House that focuses on empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities,” she wrote in a lengthy post to X. “That’s what I want to be a part of. I want to roll up my sleeves and work. I want to be a part of solving problems for West Tampa.”
Valdés continued that she was “tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress.”
“I know that I won’t agree with my fellow Republican House members on every issue, but I know that in their caucus, I will be welcomed and treated with respect,” she said.
Rep. Valdés’s departure could be another sign that Hillsborough County, like much of Florida, seems to be trending more conservative. The voters of Valdés’ House District 64 supported President Joe Biden by double digits in 2020. Voters in the district supported Trump by three, according to Democratic elections analyst Matt Isbell. Valdés won reelection by five points.
The party switch for Rep. Valdés gives Republicans their greatest-ever supermajority in the House with 86 Republicans to 34 Democrats.
“Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdés,” Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X.
Florida State Speaker Daniel Perez hailed the move, which expanded the GOP supermajority to 86 members in the 120-seat House. It was another blow to Democrats, whose hopes of cutting into the supermajority were dashed in the Nov. 5 elections.
“I so rarely get to send a communication solely in my role as Republican leader, but I am thrilled today to announce that Representative Susan Valdés has changed her voter registration from Democrat to Republican,” Perez said in an email. “We all know Susan as a fierce advocate for her community, and a person of uncommon common sense. She will be a great asset to our Republican team.”
During the Reagan years there was a massive switch in party registration among conservative Democrats with dozens of state legislators and local elected officials leaving the increasingly liberal Democrats to join the Reagan Revolution. Notable national Democrats who switched included the late Rep. Phil Gramm of Texas, Bob Stump of Arizona, Andy Ireland and Jim Grant of Florida, and Tommy F. Robinson of Arkansas among many others. Rep. Susan Valdés’s party switch could portend another wave of party switches driven by the popularity of President Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda.
George Rasley is editor of Conservative HQ.
Published with permission of conservativehq.com