Florida State Rep Joins GOP: 'Want to Roll Up My Sleeves and Work'

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés revealed that “effective immediately” she would be leaving the Democrat party and joining the Republican Party, explaining that she wants to “roll up” her sleeves “and work.”

In a post on X, Valdés released a statement explaining that she would “not waste” her “final two years” serving in Florida’s legislature by “being ignored in a caucus whose leadership” also expected her to ignore the needs of her community.

Valdés’s announcement that she was leaving the Democrat party comes after she won re-election over her Republican opponent. Valdés received 52.4 percent of the vote, while Republican candidate Maura Cruz Lanz received 47.6 percent of the vote, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“Effective immediately, I will change my registration from a Democrat to Republican and will join the Republican Conference in the Florida House of Representatives,” Valdés wrote. “Our Speaker, Rep. Daniel Perez, has laid out a vision for the House that focuses on empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities.”

“That’s what I want to be a part of,” Valdés added. “I want to roll up my sleeves and work. I want to be a part of solving problems for West Tampa.”

Valdés added in her post, that she was “tired of being the party of protesting,” when she “got into politics to be part of the party of progress.”

The Tampa Bay Times noted that there had been “little indication” that she was thinking about leaving the Democratic Party until Monday, as she had previously “ran to be the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chairperson earlier this month,” and has warned against the “dangers” of President-elect Donald Trump’s “policy platform.”

But there was little indication Valdés was contemplating such a move until Monday. She ran to be the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chairperson earlier this month. She attended a Kamala Harris debate watch party in September at a meeting of Hillsborough County Democrats, and she’s posted numerous times to X about the dangers of Donald Trump’s policy platform — particularly when it comes to immigration.

“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,” Valdés continued in her statement.