Longtime Democrat switches to the GOP because of a glaring reason

A Florida state lawmaker running for re-election as a Democrat in her Tampa district announced she is ditching the party and running as a Republican just a month after Election Day.

Rep. Susan Valdes announced her party switch to the Republican Party in a statement she posted to X on Monday, saying she would not waste her final two years in the Florida Legislature “being embarrassed.”

Florida Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature and hold the office of governor.

Valdes’ party switch came just over a month after she was re-elected to represent Florida’s State House District 64 as a Democrat.

In the final vote in the November election, she defeated her Republican challenger by just under 5 points, or less than 3,000.

In her statement, Valdes said she was a Democrat “partly out of habit” and partly because she believed Democrats were the party most concerned about working families.

But then she argued that no one has a monopoly on good ideas.

“I will not waste my last two years in the Florida Legislature being ignored in a caucus whose leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community,” she stated.

Valdes argued that by joining the GOP caucus she will be able to work on the issues facing her community.

“I want to roll up my sleeves and work,” she said. “I want to be part of solving problems for West Tampa. I am tired of being the party of protest when I entered politics to be part of the party of progress.”

Valdes said she would continue to fight for the people of West Tampa, but she argued that the “best way to do that is to stand with Chairman Perez and join the Republican supermajority.”

Full statement from State Rep. Valdes on switching from Democrat to Republican

The Florida lawmaker entered the state House for the first time after running unopposed as a Democrat in 2018. She subsequently won re-election on the Democratic ticket in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

But earlier this month she ran for chairman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party and lost. Just days later she announced her party switch.

Republicans celebrated Valdes’ party change, including Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez, who said in a post that he was “thrilled” to welcome her to the GOP supermajority.

Governor Ron DeSantis noted that her change in party affiliation gave Republicans the largest majority in State House history.

But others online called the measure deceptive, questioned why she waited until after the election and called on her to return donations.

Florida State Rep. Valdes speaks in a post she shared on X

Vanessa Lester, who won the race for The chairman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party condemned the move in a statement.

“While it remains disturbingly unclear whether she entertained the move to become a Republican even as she ran to lead the local party, ultimately it is her constituents in District 64 who have the most reason to be angry and betrayed,” Lester said.

“They voted for a Democrat who would fight for them and ended up with a political opportunist who abandoned them,” she continued.

In the November elections, Valdes received more than 31,500 votes to secure her victory.

Valdes of Florida State poses with her family outside the White House in a December 2023 post where she thanked President Biden for the “unforgettable experience” and his leadership

In August, she joined fellow Democrats in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, where she wore a shirt supporting Kamala Harris for president and posted photos from the United Center with prominent Democrats.

She also retweeted a series of messages praising President Biden, touting her support for Harris and other Democrats and lambasting President-elect Donald Trump ahead of Election Day.

Her switch to the Republican Party gives the Florida GOP 85 of the 120 seats in the state House.

While Valdes scored a victory in her district as a Democrat, Trump won Hillsborough County as a whole and the state.