Former Hillsborough Democratic Rep. Susan Valdés Defends Her Switch To GOP

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

July 21, 2025

TAMPA — Although it’s been more than seven months since Hillsborough County state Rep. Susan Valdés flipped to the Republican Party, that departure remains raw with some of her former Democratic colleagues, as emotions spilled out Friday during a discussion of the just concluded Florida legislative session.

“The thing is, unfortunately, the Democratic Party left me a long time ago,” she said when asked by a member of the audience at the Tampa Tiger Bay meeting whether she would have left the Democratic Party if it had held the majority in Tallahassee — something that hasn’t been the case in nearly three decades.

What Valdés didn’t say, though, was that her conversion to the Republican Party in December, shortly following the 2024 elections, came just a week after she lost a bid to chair the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee.

The New York City-born daughter of Cuban immigrants who has represented a Hispanic-leaning district in western Hillsborough County since 2018, Valdés alleged that Hispanics were “always an afterthought” in the Florida Democratic Party. Right now, only two Hispanics serve in the Democratic caucus: Osceola County Rep. Jose Alvarez and Orange County Rep. Johanna López.

No regrets

“If the Democratic Party were in the majority, and they would still be behaving the way that they were behaving without paying attention to the needs of the Hispanic community, yes, I’d change as well,” she maintained.

Valdés boasted that by switching to the Republican Party of Florida, she was able to accomplish “in four months what I was not able to accomplish in seven years.” She referred specifically to her ability as a member of the majority to pass a bill (HB 1105) ending the certificate of completion given to lower-performing students in place of a diploma — a longtime goal for her going back to her years serving on the Hillsborough County School Board.

Valdes called it a “participation trophy” that essentially told students, “Thank you — and you have no future.”

Democratic House Leader Fentrice Driskell, sitting to the immediate right of Valdés during the discussion, fired back immediately.

“I think it’s very unfair to voters to have asked for their vote one week to be a member of the Democratic Party and the next week or two to switch that,” Driskell said. “I think regardless of how it felt to me personally as a friend and a leader, it’s about what’s fair to the voters, and I think just also, you know, the Democratic Party is a broad coalition, and I just want to reject the sentiment that the Hispanic community was an afterthought. Absolutely not.”

Driskell added that she had worked with Valdés to build up a Spanish language media and communications strategy. Valdés countered that since she left the party, that communications program no longer exists.

She added that, as a Republican, she was able to bring “millions of dollars back to the district.” That comment triggered Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart.

“If you’re in the Democratic Party and you’re in the superminority and you have an opportunity to move over to the majority, of course you get more money,” she said. “Do you have any idea what kind of money Democrats were able to bring home from Tallahassee? Darn near nothing.”

Hart mentioned that Valdés had worked with her on criminal justice reform over the years, saying she would have hoped that with Valdés now a Republican, she could have helped influence the governor when it came to a measure Hart sponsored (HB 181) that passed unanimously this session. It would have allowed a limited number of state inmates to receive early release from prison. DeSantis vetoed the proposal, saying that it “would likely result in making Florida’s parole system more lenient.”

“Not a single time did you even reach out to try and see if you can help, but you were in that position [as] vice chair as a member of the Budget Committee,” Hart said.

Staying above the fray

The two other Democrats on the dais, Tampa Bay area Rep. Michele Rayner and Sen. Darryl Rouson, opted not to engage directly on Valdés’ party switch.

“I think that the conversation can become unhelpful when we begin to personalize it, because, at the end of the day, there is an affordability crisis in the state of Florida,” Rayner said.

“I believe that when the voters elected me, they elected me to be effective. They elected me to bring results, and not just go up and run my mouth,” said Rouson, who has served in the Legislature since 2008. “I have found a way to remain a Democrat but work both sides of the aisle.”

Valdés’ flip to the Republican Party was followed just a few weeks later by another House Democrat, Rep. Hillary Cassel, jettisoning the party and reducing the number of Democrats in the 120-member House to just 33. Cassel will face the voters for the first time next year in her district as a Republican, but Valdés is term-limited in her House District 64 seat. She has not said publicly whether she is considering another run for office in 2026.

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