Long-Time Hispanic Florida Democrats Flip Republican: ‘I Just Don’t Recognize This Party Anymore’

FLORIDA (FLV) – Carolina Castillo described herself as a “hardcore” Democrat for nearly three decades before switching to the Republican party a few months ago.

“The problem I have with Democrats is that they say one thing, and they mean another, therefore doing the opposite of what they said,” Castillo said.

Castillo was a ghostwriter for some Democratic politicians to voice support for Juan Guaidó being the official president of Venezuela instead of Nicolas Maduro and his socialist policies.

“Now all of a sudden Juan Gonzalez from the Biden administration, who was a Colombian progressive hypocrite, goes and shakes hands with Maduro and starts talking about oil,” she said. “So I feel that the hypocrisy and the betrayals have just been much more than I can bear.”

As a U.S. immigrant who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, Castillo called the Biden Administration’s engagement with Venezuela and Cuba’s criminal dictatorships a “betrayal to Latinos.”

“The Biden/Harris administration negotiating with the Cuban and Venezuelan regimes and delisting the FARC as a terrorist group in Colombia was devastating,” she said. “We take these issues seriously in South Florida. Plus, Democrats are doing away with basic social and economic freedoms that we should have as Americans.”

The Miami-Dade county resident said, as a Democrat, she started going against progressives on Twitter for about a year until making the switch to the Republican Party on Cuban Independence Day in May.

“But in reality they’re all the same. The party is unrecognizable. They’ve all been radicalized,” Castillo said. “So I had to leave. They don’t represent my values.”

Castillo believes Democrats have missed the mark on understanding what Hispanic voters care about.

“Hispanics are mostly conservative. We are traditional, we love family and God,” she said. “The radicalization of the Democrat party has turned off Hispanics and it’s responsible for helping Hispanics register Independent and Republican.”

There needs to be an emphasis on taking crime seriously and securing the border, Castillo explained. Those beliefs are a large reason why she has become a big supporter of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“The fact that the border is wide open and they’re not securing the border and sending more help, and maybe the National Guard or more security or increasing the Border Patrol, that scares me as well,” she said.

Castillo describes herself as a being pro-LGBTQ rights and pro women’s rights. After reading the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” and criticized by Democrats, Castillo said she supports the new law. The law prohibits teachers from instructing K-3 graders about sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Let’s have children speak to their parents in regards to ‘Hey Mom, if I think this girl is pretty does that make me gay? I want to answer that question,” Castillo said. “I think parents really need to be front and center when it comes to their children.”

Castillo also said she supports transgender people, but does not support them participating in women’s sports.

“So they’ve worked so hard to be at the top of their game and now in sports, they’re getting beat out by the trans community,” she said. “I feel that the trans community should have their own lane. Compete with each other. But don’t compete against the women who are not as strong.”

Roberto Sosa immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba and registered as a Democrat during the Clinton years.

“When I came here, I worked in a factory and was convinced to be a Democrat just because. My first disagreement with the Democrats was with Obama’s visit to Cuba,” Sosa said. “I thought to myself as a then conservative Democrat that I simply felt that they did not have my back.”

Sosa’s stance is similar to Castillo’s in that he did not like the Biden Administration’s talks with Maduro and wants a stronger border.

“Talking with Maduro, giving money to Maduro… it’s a bad situation…he keeps giving a hand to the socialists,” Sosa said.

“Biden is inept. I feel like he is simply not making good decisions. They have opened the borders. It makes us look like a joke of a country.” 

Sosa switched his registration to Republican in June and said he would “never” vote Democrat again.

“I am 100 percent voting for Republicans in the midterms,” Sosa said. “Governor DeSantis is a very good candidate.”

The Republican Party has focused their efforts on reaching out to Hispanic voters in Florida. The Republican National Committee has dedicated three of its five community centers in Florida to making inroads with the Hispanic community. The RNC said self-reported hispanic voters are growing both in terms of registered voters and registered Republicans.

Florida Democrats Lose Almost 100,000 Voters in 2022, Republicans Make Sweeping Gains Under DeSantis

Florida Democrats lost almost 100,000 voters in 2022 according to data from the Florida Department of State. It shows Republicans have gained voters in 59 out of 67 counties and saw losses in only 8. Democrats saw losses in 57 counties and gains in only 10.

Republicans gained 68,156 voters as of July since the year began, while Democrats lost 95,284.