Summary

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdes, a lifelong Democrat, abruptly switched to the Republican Party, citing frustration with being ignored in the Democratic caucus.

Valdes, who represents District 64 near Tampa, said she wants to focus on solving problems for her community rather than protesting.

Her defection bolsters the Florida GOP’s historic 86-34 House majority, drawing criticism from Democrats who called her move a betrayal of her constituents.

Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, welcomed Valdes, praising her as a strong community advocate and valuable addition to their party.

  • @someguy3
    19•1 day ago

    How it works is that you vote for the person. This was set up before parties existed so you vote for the person.

    To address your other comment, the other guy is right. The party doesn’t even matter, it’s how the politician votes. They can and are supposed to vote for whatever they want. They are not beholden to vote for what the party says, that’s not how it works and not how it’s supposed to work. It’s a vote by state legislators. And there is no recall election because of what we started with: how it works is you voted for the person.