DeSantis welcomes Florida state lawmaker to Republican Party as she ditches Democrats

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés, who was just re-elected as a Democrat last month, announced that she's switching her party affiliation to Republican.

"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," the newly-minted Republican said in a statement. 

"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 noted. "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."

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Her switch comes on the heels of a bid for the role of Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chair.

"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," Hillsborough County Democratic Party chair Vanessa Lester said in a statement shared on the Hillsborough County Democratic Party's Facebook page. "They voted for a Democrat to fight for them and ended up with a political opportunist who abandoned them."

Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed the congresswoman to the Republican Party, declaring in a post on X, "Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdes! Congrats to Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL on the biggest Republican majority in the history of the Florida House!" the governor added.

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Valdés hailed former President Jimmy Carter as "My hero!" in a post on X earlier this year while wishing the 100-year-old Democrat a happy birthday.

"I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," the former president told his son Chip, according to grandson Jason Carter, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported earlier this year.

In an October post on Facebook, Valdés wrote, "I pray you can see her inauguration, President Jimmy Carter."

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President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in for his second term next month after decisively defeating Harris in the 2024 presidential contest.