Hillsborough County Rep. Susan Valdés. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
Hillsborough Rep. Susan Valdés announced Dec. 9 that she has changed her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican, delivering a blow to Florida Democrats, who lost two seats in the November elections.
Valdés, first elected in 2018, bashed the superminority Democratic caucus in announcing her switch while praising House Speaker Danny Perez’s vision for the chamber.
“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 wrote in a post on X.
She continued: “I’m tired of being in the party of when I got into politics to be a 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.”
Valdés lost her bid for Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chair last week, which House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, also from Hillsborough, pointed out in a press release commenting on the switch. Instead, Hillsborough Democrats chose Vanessa Lester as chair.
Driskell wrote that she was surprised and disappointed by Valdés’ announcement.
“Rep. Valdés 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 beliefs,” Driskell wrote. “It is sad that she has elevated her own aspirations above the needs of her district.”
In an email sent to House members, Perez said Republicans now enjoy the largest advantage in the history of the chamber.
“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,” Perez wrote in the email.
Weeks before the announcement, Valdés applauded Perez’s address to the House during his first day as speaker on Nov. 19.
“I thought Perez’ words were beautiful today. It gives me hope that our constituents’ concerns, especially since in my district we have had so many losses of elderly homes because of so many floods; it gives me hope that we’re going to be able to do some meaningful legislation under Danny’s leadership,” she told Florida Phoenix at the time.
This story is courtesy of Florida Phoenix.
Florida Phoenix is a nonprofit news site, free of advertising and free to readers, covering state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
