Florida state Rep. Susan Valdes switched her party registration from Democrat to Republican on Monday, bolstering the GOP’s largest-ever majority in the House, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
“In the House, I have long known that no one has a monopoly on good ideas,” Valdes wrote in a statement posted on X. “I will not waste my final two years in the Florida Legislature being ignored in a caucus whose leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community.”
A former Hillsborough County School Board member, Valdes first ran for House as a Democrat in 2018 and was elected to represent District 64, outside of Tampa.
Until Monday, Valdes, who is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, was a lifelong Democrat. There was little to no indication of her move to switch parties, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. She has been openly critical of Florida’s leaders for using an “autocracy playbook” and “implementing dangerous proposals, using their power to serve themselves and their cronies but not the rest of us,” she wrote in a 2023 op-ed.
Valdes also attended a Kamala Harris watch party and is critical of President-elect Donald Trump’s stance on immigration.
“I have spent my adult life to give a voice to the people of my West Tampa home. I have done so as a Democrat partly out of habit- and partly because I believed Democrats were the party most concerned with the families I represent,” Valdes wrote in the statement.
“I want to roll up my sleeves and work. I want to be part of solving problems for West Tampa. I’m tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress,” she wrote, adding that she won’t agree with her fellow Republican House members on every issue.
For Democrats, Valdes’ switch is a troubling move and yet another loss for the party in an overwhelmingly red state. The Florida GOP now has a 86-34 majority in the House.
“Rep. Valdes was elected by her constituents as a Democrat to fight for our shared values here in Tallahassee and has consistently and publicly shared that she feels the Republican Party does not adequately represent her constituents or her beliefs,” House Democratic leader Fentrice Driksell wrote in a statement on X. “It is sad that she has elevated her own needs above the needs of her district.”
Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, have celebrated Valdes’ decision and welcomed her to the party.
“Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdez,” DeSantis wrote on X.
“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,” Speaker Danny Perez, R-Miami, said in a statement.
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