Susan Valdés dumps Democrats, joins Republican Party

State Rep. Susan Valdés is switching political parties, dumping Democrats in favor of the GOP.

Valdés announced her switch in a post on X. The move came less than a week after Valdés lost a bid to chair the Hillsborough County Democratic Party. Members instead voted for Vanessa Lester despite Valdés having major backing from local elected officials and unions. Lester was seen as the more progressive choice to lead the party through a period of rebuilding.

Now, Valdés said she “will not waste” her final two years in office — this is her final term before term limits bar her from running for re-election. In a lengthy statement, Valdés lamented that the Democratic caucus’ “leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community” and claimed that she had been ignored.

Her party change is effective immediately.

“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. “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.

The new Hillsborough Democratic Party Chair, Lester, offered a stern statement in response.

“While it remains disturbingly unclear whether she was entertaining the switch to become a Republican even as she was running to lead the local Party, ultimately it is her constituents in District 64 who have the most reason to be upset and betrayed. They voted for a Democrat to fight for them and ended up with a political opportunist who abandoned them,” she posted to social media.

The party swap is well-timed for Valdés, since she cannot run for re-election to her current House seat. Valdés represents House District 64, which covers West Tampa, Town ’n’ Country and surrounding areas. The district has a large voter registration advantage for Democrats, with more than 32,000 voters registered to the Democratic Party compared to just under 25,000 for Republicans. More than 25,000 are registered without party affiliation, but Valdés won the district this year with more than 52% of the vote against a GOP challenger.

Notably, over Valdés’ time in office, Hillsborough County has shifted increasingly Republican.

More voters there backed Republican Donald Trump for President in November than supported Democrat Kamala Harris, four years after Democrat Joe Biden received more votes in the county.

According to MCI Maps’ Matt Isbell, Valdés’ House District 64 was one of a small number of legislative districts in which a Democrat was elected, but a majority of voters supported Trump over Harris.

Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the House Minority Leader who also represents parts of Tampa, said in a statement that she was “surprised and disappointed” in Valdés’ decision.

“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 said. 

She also criticized Valdés for the timing of her announcement.

“It is sad that she has elevated her own aspirations above the needs of her district. It feels especially egregious in light of the fact that, just last week, she ran for Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee Chair and lost by a substantial margin,” Driskell continued. “Susan should have trusted her constituents, not pulled a bait-and-switch after the fact. Nevertheless, this does not change what the Democratic Caucus is here to do. We will never stop fighting for what we believe: all Floridians, including those in Rep. Valdés’ district, deserve the freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe.”

Perez, meanwhile, emailed House members to notify them of Valdés’ party swap with the subject line “Big Announcement.”

“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,” he wrote.

“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.”

He added in his email that her change will make this year’s House class “the largest Republican Conference in the history of the Florida House of Representatives.”

Several welcome messages came in moments after Valdés’ posted her announcement, including from U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who noted Valdés’ Cuban heritage.

“Like Ronald Reagan famously said: ‘Hispanics are Republicans, they just don’t know it yet!’”

Rep. Stan McClain welcomed Valdés to the party.

“We are happy to have such an accomplished member join us,” he wrote in response to her announcement on X. 

Others, however, were not amused.

Barbie Harden Hall, who unsuccessfully challenged Daniel Webster in Florida’s 11th Congressional District this year, questioned Valdés’ departure just days after she lost a bid for Hillsborough County Democratic Party Chair.

Another X user wrote that Valdés “should lose your seat.” Yet another asked why Valdés had not swapped parties before the election before noting the move was “F***ed up.”

The House website listing Representatives has already been updated to reflect Valdés will caucus with Republicans.

Valdés’ departure leaves just 34 Democrats in the 120-member Florida House of Representatives. The Republican supermajority now sits at 86 members, a net increase of two seats since before the General Election.

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Florida Politics reporter Jacob Ogles contributed to this report.