Democratic lawmaker immediately defects to GOP after winning re-election

www.rawstory.com Democratic lawmaker immediately defects to GOP after winning re-election

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés announced Monday she is defecting to the Republican Party — immediately after being re-elected as a Democrat.Valdés, a Cuban-American lawmaker who was raised by immigrants in New York, represents a Tampa area district."I have spent my adult life fighting to give a voi...

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés announced Monday she is defecting to the Republican Party — immediately after being re-elected as a Democrat.

63 comments

I don't understand how this isn't illegal in some way. It's misrepresentation of your goals in taking the position. Unless she's just going to call herself a Republican but vote with Democrat lines, which would be even weirder.
- I don’t understand how this isn’t illegal in some way.
  Who is going to arrest her? DeSantis?
  She's a Cuban ex-pat whose harshest criticism of the GOP was that they were too much like Fidel Castro. She ran unopposed twice, after the Dems cancelled the primary and let her waltz through unopposed. Now she's facing an entrenched majority GOP that happily rewards turncoats and completely freezes out the rump opposition. This is her last term in office before retirement, so she can flip the bird to her constituents and cash out at last. Why are you surprised she flipped?
  
  Not surprised, just calling it as I see it, despicable and deplorable.
- It's the inherent flaw in representative democracy. You elect a person and empower them to just do whatever they think is best, with the assumption they'll do what they said and what you supported them for, but there's no enforcement or law requiring it. They just presumably want to be reelected, but if the deal is good enough or they think they can get reelected some other way, they can flip you off and you're screwed.
  
  This is why, when George Santos was found to be lying, the argument that there's no need to expel him from Congress because people will unelect him is bullshit. George Santos ran on being a completely different person than he turned out to be and so completely misrepresented himself. This is very much what what's her face OP posted did. Waiting until the next election cycle for that position doesn't really do the Justice needed, does it?
- A politician? Misrepresenting their goals? Changing them after being elected? Impossible!
  You must be young.
  
  Not young. I get your point, but I think you understand mine. There's a huge difference between not fulfilling campaign promises and totally voting opposite the party you were elected under. So I toss it back...do you think this is fine or okay, or even typical, and we should just shrug it off?
- Political parties aren’t technically part of the government. Why would lying to them be a crime?
- What law was broken? And if there isn't one (there isn't), how would you craft such a law?
  
  The only thing that I can think of is some type of vote of no-confidence by the people who were tricked. Maybe a way to petition through the state to call for a new vote. Something besides some letters and phone calls that will be ignored, and wait another election cycle.

People always get mad at me when I say that half the democrats are actually GOP but have been paid to run under a different party to trap the people voting blue down the ballot.
Everyone is getting played and we are just arguing with each other instead of DDDing those fuckers.
- Domain-Driven Design?
  
  Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.
  
  I believe they are referring to adjusting her
  mentality
  
  Sure.
  
  Dangley dick dongers
- What would increasing her bust size accomplish?
  
  lol
- Honestly I'm shocked at everything post DDD, like you gotta have balls to publicly screw people when we're teetering on the edge. In Florida of all places.

The Democrats running "moderates" and then reaping what they sowed when the "moderates" shockingly aren't loyal to them

Why does this keep happening. What's going on with the vetting structure within the dem party?
- From Hillsborough Democrat Susan Valdés switches to Republican Party
  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.
  She flipped because the Republicans are freezing the entire Democratic Party out of the legislative process and she lives in a district that's been curdling conservative like old milk. Florida has been overflowing with "conservative Democrats" for decades. The party's been so desperate for wins that they've taken to running former Republicans for statewide office.
  It isn't the vetting structure that's the problem. The Florida party is rotten to the core. It has been fully co-opted by business interests, social conservatives, and anti-Cuba reactionaries. It's just a second Republican Party without any pull. Why not flip?
  
  Well said. In 2016, the Democratic party took the stage to demonstrate how they can shoot themselves in the foot. In 2020, they showed that the bullet wound wasn't healing because they keep putting their finger inside to feel the sweet pain. In 2024, they shot themselves perfectly through the same bullet wound, causing no new damage and impressing a lot of people while other said, "I'm tired of these morons acting like idiots." So they said "wait! Wait! We have a new trick!" And then shot themselves in the head.
  There are some members of the party who are legitimately trying to help the country and their constituents, and there are plenty who want to be career politicians and have been willing to play ball with the corporate investors.
  On the one hand, I hate that she's done this. On the other hand, she's possibly prevented or at least delayed being prosecuted or persecuted by the utterly insane Florida GOP. Maybe this was true malice, but after this year's performance and results, I wouldn't have much faith in the Democratic party rescuing my ass in Florida.
  
  All the more hilarious that Kamala sent Hillary to campaign for her in Florida (and Bill to Michigan) just weeks before the election. Fucking pathetic state of affairs.
- What's going on with the vetting structure within the dem party?
  Quite simple, really. They completely got rid of it back in the 70s
  
  Can't win elections if you have standards, cmon now
  
  Opps All Conservatives!
- Vetting? It’s called they are being paid to run under one, then flip. It’s a con.
- the whole party should defect considering how much Harris chased republican voters
- The vetting structure of the party embracing corporate money and actual Republicans?

So it seems the democratic party is incapable of vetting the people they allow into the party. Kyrsten Lea Sinema and now this?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you can't get fooled again.
State level electoral reform will give the citizens of the USA the freedom to democracy as they best see fit, secure in the knowledge their vote will still be cast if their preference doesn't win.
Who the fuck could be against democracy? Republicans? Well duh.
How about the democratic party? What do they think of democracy?
- Not twice, third at least: Marie Alvarado-Gil (Elected D, now R, CA) is also traitorous scum

This should be illegal to the pii t of jail time as it's -down to its core- just plain fraud

If the Dems are openly allowing themselves to be assfucked by the GOP like this, then screwing around with the electoral margins are the least of their problems.

I’m waiting for the Dems to pick up this tactic
- The Dems suck the same billionaire cock as the Republicans.
  
  Yeah, but at least they aren't afraid to take a hard bite now and again if they don't like what they taste. Russpublicans will slurp that filthy shit up and beg for more.
- Do you mean Republicans?

Valdés did not explicitly list a reason for abandoning Democrats in her statement. However, it comes just a week after she lost a campaign to chair the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee. Furthermore, last year, she was one of a small handful of Democrats who crossed the aisle to support a massive school voucher program championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
real riddle this one
- “lol”, said the scorpion. “Lmao”

So what’s it take for a recall vote?

1000% straight to death penalty if you win an election by lying about shit

Needs an adjustment.

Putting politics aside, why don't more people do this? Until a law fixes it, it's clearly a viable strategy and it rarely goes unpunished. Low risk high rewards, literally every single party plant should run against their own party and then immediately defect if they end up winning.
- Probably because it ruins your chances of being elected for anything ever. The person in the OP is retiring after this term so she doesn't care but for a politician in the middle of their career it's basically suicide.
  
  True for most people yes, but at least one person will blindly believe that their party will have their back when their constituents turn on them. The laws show no sign of changing and seem to actively encourage this behavior. The question refines to: Why wouldn't a political party just always tap into the pool of fodder to use for this particular strategy?
  
  I don't know, maybe the next election in 2 years a democratic candidate would absolutely love to tour around the state with her on the campaign trail.