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FL: Hillsborough Democrat Susan Valdes switches to Republican Party
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hillsborough-democrat-susan-valdes-switches-204100070.htmlIn 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.
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.
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