Florida State Rep. Susan Valdés, who represents Florida’s 64th district, has switched parties.

Valdés, whose district includes parts of Hillsborough County, was elected to her fourth term in the State House as a Democrat.

However, she has decided to flip parties.

“I have spent my adult life fighting to give a voice to the people of my West Tampa home. I have done so as a Democrat partly out of habit – I come from a family of Democrats – and partly because I believed the Democrats were the party most concerned with the working families I represent,” Valdés said.

“In the House, I have long known that no one has a monopoly on good ideas. 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,” she continued.

“Effective immediately, I will change my registration from a Democrat to Republican and will join the Republican Conference in the Florida House of Representatives,” she added.

See statement below… pic.twitter.com/JUVhsziSL7

— Susan L. Valdés (@SusanLValdesFL) December 9, 2024

A closer look:

From the Associated Press:

State Rep. Susan Valdés, a former school board member who was reelected as a Democrat last month, said on X that she is “tired of being the party of protesting.”

Valdés ran to be chairperson for her local county’s Democratic executive committee earlier this month. She won her current term by nearly 5 percentage points but can’t run for reelection again because of term limits.

Republicans have controlled the governor’s office and both branches of the Legislature since 1999. Valdés is serving her final two years before leaving office due to term limits. Republicans now have an 86-34 majority in the House.

“I got into politics to be part of the party of progress,” Valdés wrote. “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.”

“Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdes! Congrats to Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL on the biggest Republican majority in the history of the Florida House!” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis commented.

Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdes!

Congrats to Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL on the biggest Republican majority in the history of the Florida House! https://t.co/vf1oif6cBy

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 9, 2024

Florida Democrat switches to Republican: ‘Tired of being the party of protesting’https://t.co/WYZaKYK2jp pic.twitter.com/XQSUBDWen5

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 11, 2024

Per WFLA:

Leaders from across the aisle reacted, with some showing support and others disappointment.

Representative Berny Jacques, R-Pinellas, says Valdes is just doing what many other Floridians have done in recent years.

“Valdes now joins the countless of Floridians that have made that switch. If a lot of people will recall before Governor DeSantis came into office, there were more registered Democrats than Republicans, and now we stand at a point where there are over 1,000,000 more Republicans than Democrats registered here in the state, and now we can count Representative Valdes as one of those,” said Rep. Jacques.

Democratic Representative Dianne Hart, D-Hillsborough, shares her sorrow but respects Valdes and her wishes. However, Rep. Hart believes the party needs to stand together and understand how some constituents feel abandoned by the decision.

“When you leave, you abandoned a party. The party didn’t abandon you,” said Rep. Hart.

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