I am asking the above question because since last month’s election – and in its aftermath which shows the same “leadership” that brought the Democrat Party to its current state will remain in place – two moderate state Democrats in Florida have, in fact, done just that; switched their party affiliation. And, I suspect, at least two Democrat House members who have not switched just might be considering the possibility.
From Liam Archacki’s article at the (reliably leftward Daily Beast, we have this:
A Democratic Florida state representative announced she is defecting from her party and joining the Republicans because the Democrats are too open to “extreme progressive voices.” Hillary Cassel, who is Jewish, said in a statement on X that she was “increasingly troubled by the Democratic Party’s failure to unequivocally support Israel” in its war with Hamas. “I’m constantly troubled by the inability of the current Democratic Party to relate to everyday Floridians,” she added. “I can no longer remain in a party that doesn’t represent my values. I know I won’t always agree on every detail with every Republican, but I do know that I will always have input, collaboration, and respect.” Cassel first won office in Florida’s 101st district in 2022, beating out her Republican opponent by seven points, according to Ballotpedia. She won re-election two months ago, running unopposed. Earlier this month, another Democrat in Florida’s house, Susan Valdes, announced that she would join the Republicans because she felt “ignored” by her party, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“I can no longer remain in a party that doesn’t represent my values.” That tells the story about as clearly as it can be told.
Then, we have Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who represents a largely Latino district in The Bronx.
Latino voters in general have made a significant move away from the Democrat Party/to the Republican Party. How significant? In 2020, CNN’s exit polling showed Joe Biden beating Donald Trump among Latino voters by 65% – 32%. This year that difference was 52% – 46%; a 27% improvement for Republicans in just four years.
Given that Rep. Torres has been openly critical of his party’s journey to the far left, he just might be seeing himself as less welcome there as the two Florida Statehouse members referenced above; he just might be ready to move in the same direction.
That, in my opinion might also be true of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), whose politics, like Mr. Torres, are no longer in step with current Democrat leadership. And I have no doubt there are other moderate Democrats – Latino and non-Latino both – in the same situation.
It will be more than a little interesting to see how this plays out in the next few months. We’ll see….
