Jason Pizzo predicts college turnout could decide critical SD 3 race

Photo via Florida TaxWatch.

Sen. Jason Pizzo is set to lead the Senate Democratic caucus. But voters on Tuesday will determine how many Senators are in that group.

At a Florida TaxWatch event in Palm Beach, Pizzo said he will closely be watching results for Senate District 3. That’s where Democrat Daryl Parks will challenge Republican Sen. Corey Simon, who won his seat in 2022 and became the first Republican representing Tallahassee in decades.

“I think it’s very close,” Pizzo acknowledged. “What I’m very encouraged to see are 18- to 25-year-olds voting at a much higher clip than they were in the last couple elections. I don’t know if that’s Amendment 3 or 4 — maybe they have some interest in 5 and 6.”

Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana and Amendment 4 would restore abortion rights.

But Pizzo said he has personally put some resources into making sure students at Florida State University (FSU), Florida A&M University and other schools have updated their voter registration so they can vote in the critical race. He pointed to a staffer who attends FSU but until recently kept her registration at her parents’ address.

He showed no anxiety about Senate District 25, a seat Republicans have shown an interest in since the 2022 contest in Osceola County turned out closer than expected.

“Kristen Arrington is going to be Senator-elect,” he predicted, voicing confidence the Democratic nominee will beat Republican Jose Martinez.

As far as statewide totals, he wondered if people are reading more into solid Republican early voting than should be done. “I’m just wondering if they’re poaching from their otherwise Election Day crowd,” he said.

Pizzo spoke to Florida Politics about the state of races after addressing a Florida TaxWatch gathering in Palm Beach. In a speech to attendees, he otherwise discussed the need for solutions-focused legislation in the Legislature. He noted that 82% of bills passed in the Legislature have bipartisan support, though controversial matters often eat up valuable time resources.

“I just wish the public would see how much work behind the scenes is done and how much good that we do when we suspend our egos, dispense with any private authorship,” he said.

He also defended a controversial condo bill passed after the Surfside condominium collapse that killed 98 people in his South Florida district. New regulations have been blamed for a slowdown in condo sales, but Pizzo said that’s the wrong way to look at outcomes.

“Now all the headlines are flooded with ‘condo crisis,’ right? But it’s not the truth,” he said, “and even when the top executive or any of my legislative colleagues go around the state and pander to the public about a condo crisis, they’re doing incredible disservice.”

He said there will likely be updates to legislation this year. But the regulations on condo safety were far more important.

“It’s an incredible opportunity. It’s an opportunity for banks and for local municipalities and counties,” he said. “It’s a flushing. It’s a purging.”