Jason Pizzo says he’s running for Governor, plans to spend $25M on his campaign

Jason Pizzo, Senate Minority Leader, speaks to Capital Tiger Bay Club members today at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center about the post-2024 landscape and 2025 Legislative Session. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Sen. Jason Pizzo has put all speculation to rest about whether he’ll be running to succeed Ron DeSantis as Florida’s top executive next year.

Asked point blank whether he plans to run for Governor, Pizzo finally gave a definitive answer: “Yes, I am.”

The comment came in during an interview with CBS News Miami’s Jim DeFede in Sunday’s to-be-aired edition of “Facing South Florida.”

And just like that, the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial race grew much more complicated.

Until late last month, Pizzo was considered a top candidate for Democrats to retake the Governor’s Mansion in 2026. Then he threw a wrench into the works by resigning as Senate Democratic Leader and announcing he was re-registering as an independent.

In an April 24 speech on the Senate floor, he hinted again at loftier political ambitions that he had alluded to for more than a year.

“Stripping myself of a title and party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent, and help many, many more people,” he said.

Late Friday, he elaborated on that idea, telling DeFede that the needs of Floridians, from more housing affordability options to better resiliency planning, aren’t being fulfilled by “rhetoric that Republicans want to push.” Democrats, meanwhile, get distracted by “every little step or statement that the Republicans make.”

As an independent, Pizzo wouldn’t benefit from the funding apparatus of a major party. But he doesn’t need it. He comes from money. His family runs a New Jersey-based homebuilding company, and he told DeFede he is willing to spend $25 million on his campaign on top of $30 million more he expects to receive from friends and relatives.

Pizzo, 48, previously said he wouldn’t run without party affiliation. Recent polling suggests he’ll have more than an uphill battle doing so.

On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is actively campaigning, while First Lady Casey DeSantis’ entry to the race is thought by many to be, if not imminent, inevitable, the scandal around her Hope Florida charity notwithstanding.

Meanwhile, no big-name Democrat has yet launched a bid, though Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, a former Congressman, is exploring a run, and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is rumored to be gearing up for one too.

Speaking with Florida Politics in January, Pizzo all but confirmed he was running and said that if he ran, he’d be doing so because he doesn’t see a better alternative.

“If I had faith that somebody else could do the job better, I’d be the first to campaign for them,” he said. “But when you contemplate candidates on our side and that specific role for which you must bring a specific combination of life experience, fortitude, intelligence and toughness — not just to win, but to bring a seismic shift — I check those boxes.”