Jesse Scheckner
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.”
14 comments
Foghorn Leghorn
May 9, 2025 at 9:58 pm
Florida is a “Red State”. Save your money Pizzo.
Delusional
May 9, 2025 at 10:31 pm
Ego run amuck. He’s worth zero in both D and R circles, and the NPAs have never heard of him.
Deplorable Pinellas
May 9, 2025 at 10:41 pm
He’s still a Democrat. Just eliminating that pesky primary election and all its expenses.
Victoria Olson
May 9, 2025 at 11:32 pm
Pizzo NO ONE CARES….YOU BLEW GETTING ANY SUPPORT FROM DEMS OR PROGRESSIVES. Everyone from the party has been told NOT to help you….good luck your on your own. You bastard you voted to kill the voice of the people with constitutional amendments that you F’in signed Traidor that you are.
Sage
May 10, 2025 at 7:32 am
Will enable Daniel’s to win with a based, plurality campaign. Way to go.
Malka Shahar
May 10, 2025 at 7:59 am
I am conservative Republican and I will definitely Support Jason Pizzo.
He HAS My Vote!
And I am also asking everyone to vote for Pizzo!
I will be happy to him our next Governor ❤️
Foghorn Leghorn
May 10, 2025 at 8:18 am
You are about as much of a Republican as Peter H is an independent.
Dahlia Canes
May 10, 2025 at 9:08 am
GO JASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Foghorn Leghorn
May 10, 2025 at 9:48 am
Don’t New Jersey My Florida. You want New Jersey politics and taxes? Then move there.
Dahlia Canes
May 10, 2025 at 9:09 am
GO JASON!!!!!!
Larry Gillis, Director-at-Large, Libertarian Party of Florida
May 10, 2025 at 9:45 am
THE MORE THE MERRIER, I SUPPOSE.
There can be no reasonable objection to anyone running for Governor. Get your name on the ballot, and then let the people decide. That is chiseled in granite in the Florida Constitution. However, just as elections have consequences, candidacies do, too.
Pizzo may have resigned from the Democratic Party, but voters will remember who (and what) he has been for virtually all of his adult life. I think he will pull a lot of Democratic voters away from that Party’s nominee, because they remember his service. The net effect will be to make even more probable the election of the Republican nominee. We all know that, and maybe that’s why he’s doing it in the first place.
Unhappily, my Party (the Libertarian Party of Florida) will very probably decide to NOT put up a nominee this time, so the Rational Alternative will not be available to you.
Good luck to all concerned. Mind the gap and carry on.
SuzyQ
May 10, 2025 at 2:48 pm
Thanks, Jason. Casey ’26!
Home Profit System
May 10, 2025 at 11:22 pm
My friend recommended to me and I’ve gotten 2 checks for a total of $9,200…iilthis is the best decision I made in a long time! This extra cash has changed my life in so many ways, thank you…
Go ON my ProFILE
Tiffany Grantham
May 11, 2025 at 4:32 am
I came to the rally at your office a few days ago about HB 1205. Our first amendment right to petition our government in under dire attack. At FloridaRighttoCleanWater.org we have had to suspend petition gathering because of this new law. Citizen’s initiatives have been a big part of the people’s voice here in Florida.
But back to the rally, we were told our cars would be towed from your parking lot so I moved my truck to the plaza down the street. Someone at your building sent the tow truck to that parking lot and towed me from there literally after about 3 minutes. I now am also questioning my right to protest especially without serious intimidation.
Is this the America you want us to live in? Afraid to speak out, afraid or unable to truly use our rights or making it impossible to really have those rights?
Because that’s what it looks like, that’s what it feels like to me.
And that isn’t the America I know and love and want to live in.