Florida State Rep. Cassel's departure from Democratic Party was "surprising," State Rep. Gottlieb says
MIAMI — Florida State Representative Michael Gottlieb, a Democrat who represents portions of Broward County, joined "Facing South Florida" on Sunday to talk about the recent decision by now-former Democratic State Representative Hillary Cassel, also from Broward County, to leave the party and join the GOP, the second lawmaker to do so this month.
Cassel, who ran unopposed for her second term last November, in a post on X, bashed the Democratic Party over what she called a lack of support for Israel and said she believes Republicans offer a better vision for Florida.
Gottlieb, who is also the head of the Jewish caucus, told "Facing South Florida" that he was "shocked" about Cassel's decision to switch since they were friendly with each other, having traveled together to Israel over the summer with a larger congregation of legislators.
"I was really surprised to see that she was leaving the Democratic Party and doing so sort of without notice to any of her colleagues," he said. "Certainly I didn't know."
Gottlieb continued, calling Cassel's decision "a loss and a blow" to the Democratic Party, adding that she had been recently given the position of deputy policy chief for the party and was viewed as someone who would lead the way on property insurance reform for the party.
"If you're asking me, 'You know why she left?' You know I would have to say I don't know," he said.
As part of her announcement of switching to the GOP, Cassel said she had been "increasingly troubled by the Democratic Party's failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism."
In response to her reasons, Gottlieb said in terms of the Democratic Party tolerating acts of prejudice, President-elect Donald Trump has "coddled" people who hold anti-semitic views, such as far-right online pundit Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West. However, he argued that there are also people in the Democratic Party who do the same things, saying that Cassel's reasons to leave the party are oversimplified.
"Are there fringes in both parties that stick to anti-semitic tropes that — again, I'll use the word 'coddle' — people who are known anti-semitic? Yeah, of course there are," he said. "If that representative of each party as a whole? Absolutely not."
In November, State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democrat who represents Jacksonville, offered a ceasefire resolution to end hostilities on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict but she was met with hostility by both Florida Democrats and Republicans. Cassell and Gottlieb were some of the Florida House members who denounced Nixon's proposal.
When asked whether that moment was a turning point for Cassel's views, Gottlieb said he believed it was part of it.
"When Angie Nixon filed her ceasefire piece of legislation, there was a quiet uproar before it hit the [Florida House] floor with many on both sides of the fence telling her, 'You shouldn't be filing this. It's too soon, it's too raw," he said. "And, I do think that the debate before [and] during on the House floor, and then some of the uproar after, is certainly what led to Representative Cassel's departure from the Democratic Party."
Though that incident might have been the "genesis" of Cassel's party switch, Gottlieb told "Facing South Florida" that he found the timing of her decision was "troubling" because she ran for re-election in what was considered to be a Democratic-safe seat as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party.
Gottlieb continued, saying that the decision's timing could have been a "matter of opportunity" since Cassel is now the vice chair of the Florida House Insurance and Banking Committee, but he cannot speak for her choice since they haven't spoken with each other since she became a Republican.
When asked if heading into the 2025 Legislative Session is a "daunting time" for himself and other Florida Democrats, Gottlieb said he enjoys the "uphill battle."
"Is it daunting to me? No, you know, we're still going to have our wins but we're here as Democrats to be the voice of the people and we're going to continue to be the voice of the people," he said. "I have seen for six years a Republican Party coddled the insurance industry. I have seen a Republican Party make decisions that don't benefit our constituents. And so no, I don't find it daunting."
