Cassel said in a post on X that she supports House Republicans' "vision for a better, more prosperous Florida" and questioned whether the Democratic Party adequately supports Israel.

Summary

Florida State Rep. Hillary Cassel, a Democrat representing Broward County, switched to the Republican Party due to concerns about the Democratic Party’s stance on Israel, progressive extremism, and disconnect from “everyday Floridians.”

Cassel’s move follows Tampa Rep. Susan Valdes’ similar defection earlier this month, bolstering Republicans’ supermajority to 87 members in Florida’s 120-seat House.

GOP leaders welcomed Cassel, while Democrats criticized her decision as a betrayal of voters and party principles.

Cassel, first elected in 2022, has been a key Democratic voice on property insurance issues.

    • Pheonixdown@lemm.ee
      1·
      26 days ago

      Is your suggestion that people vote in the cancelled election differently? Even if there was an R to vote for, should they have voted for the outright R instead of being tricked?

      • theonlytruescotsman@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        21·
        25 days ago

        No, vote for people representing your own values, not based on team. Neither the dnc or gop have any workers interests or values. Vote blue no matter who is as fascist and doomed to fail as any other anti democratic nonsense.

        • zbyte64@awful.systems
          1·
          25 days ago

          It’s a false dichotomy between values and being strategic. Doing both requires flexibility of action.

          • theonlytruescotsman@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            01·
            25 days ago

            Being strategic keeps electing far right conservatives to office. So you enjoy that and pretend it’s normal for two dem presidential candidates in a row to have harsher policies on immigration than any Republican candidate in history.

        • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
          1·
          25 days ago

          None of the viable candidates on the ballot were people that completely represented my values in virtually any election I’ve voted in. Indeed, I suspect some of my values are a small enough minority of the country that they simply do not stand a chance at winning democratically without a major shift in the opinions of the general population.

          “Vote blue no matter who” isn’t really literal, in the the sense that I wouldn’t vote for a republican if somehow one actually reflecting what I think was actually running. It’s a heuristic, reflecting the fact that the dems have throughout my lifetime consistently been closer to my views than the Rs however slightly and really only useful in cases like obscure downballot races where I am unable to locate much information about what the candidates actually want but must still try to determine which is preferable without real information about them.