Hillsborough Democrat Susan Valdés switches to Republican Party
In the Republican wave election year of 2024, one of the few Democratic bright spots was Susan Valdés.
The former school board member held her Democratic-leaning Tampa-based state House district. With the victory, Democrats got to keep one of the few established incumbents in the fold of their ever-shrinking Tallahassee minority.
As it turns out, Democrats don’t get to keep Valdés at all.
On Monday, she announced in a post on X that she was switching her party affiliation to Republican. In the upcoming legislative session, Valdés will caucus with the GOP.
“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,” Valdés posted in a statement to X. “I’m tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be part of the party of progress.”
Democrats have trouble at times keeping their members from voting with the Republican majority in Tallahassee. Because Republican leaders control the budget, there’s a strong incentive for individual members to toe the Republican line to bring money back to their districts.
But there was little indication Valdés was contemplating such a move until Monday. She ran to be the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chairperson earlier this month. She attended a Kamala Harris debate watch party in September at a meeting of Hillsborough County Democrats, and she’s posted numerous times to X about the dangers of Donald Trump’s policy platform — particularly when it comes to immigration.
In a Tampa Bay Times op-ed published in April 2023, Valdés had especially harsh words for Florida Republicans. She wrote that Florida leaders were operating like the autocratic leaders in Cuba that Valdés parents fled.
“It is as if the leaders of the state have picked up an autocracy playbook and, slowly but surely, are implementing dangerous proposals, using their power to serve themselves and their cronies but not the rest of us,” Valdés wrote then.
In her statement announcing the party switch, Valdés acknowledged she would not agree with Republicans on every issue. Still, Valdés decision amounts to a stunning about-face.
State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the Democratic leader from Tampa, called Valdés’ decision “egregious” given that she had run for the Hillsborough Democratic Party post.
“It is sad that she has elevated her own aspirations above the needs of her district,” Driskell wrote in an emailed statement.
Valdés did not respond to a call or a text requesting comment.
The Democrat’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.
Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, welcomed their newest member into the fold. With Valdés, the party now boasts what is believed to be its largest-ever majority in the state House.
“We all know Susan as a fierce advocate for her community, and a person of uncommon common sense,” incoming state House Speaker Daniel Perez wrote to colleagues. “She will be a great asset to our Republican team.”