Two weeks after proclaiming the Democratic Party “dead” in Florida and switching his registration to NPA, State Senator Jason Pizzo declared he was running for governor in 2026 as an independent during an interview with CBS News Miami.
Although it was widely viewed that he made the switch with the intention of running for governor, this was the first time he stated it as a matter of fact.
“Yes, I am,” he said when asked the question.
“We need somebody who can balance a checkbook, who understands finance, not just economic theory; who’s concerned about infrastructure and resiliency and the environment and education and all of these things that are top of mind for people that are just trying to keep a roof over their head, keep their kids clothed and educated,” Pizzo said.
He said the needs of most Floridians are not being met by “the rhetoric that the Republicans want to push” or by the Democrats overreacting “to every little step or statement that the Republicans make.”
“They want people that say, listen, how am I going to pay my taxes? How am I going to pay my mortgage or my rent? When I flush my toilet, will it work? When it rains, is it going to inundate me with flooding? And can I really even afford to live here with property insurance?”
Pizzo, a former prosecutor whose family built a multimillion-dollar housing business in the Northeast, said he is prepared to invest $25 million into his campaign and raise another $30 million from friends and family.
Pizzo has faced intense criticism from Democrats over his decision to abruptly switch to an NPA while the legislative session was still underway. Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried issued a statement when he announced the switch saying, “Jason’s failure to build support within our party for a gubernatorial run has led to this final embarrassing temper tantrum. I’d be lying if I said I’m sad to see him go, but I wish him the best of luck in the political wilderness he’s created for himself. The Florida Democratic Party is more united without him.”
Former Democratic National Committee Chair, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, labeled Pizzo a quitter. “What real Democrats refuse to do — ever— is quit,” she said in a statement. “We put families first, not higher office ambitions. We do the hard work, not cower from it.”
The last time voters in Florida elected someone without an R or a D next to their names was in 1848 when Thomas Brown was elected to the governor’s mansion from the Whig Party.
Democrats have also argued the only thing Pizzo will accomplish if he runs is guaranteeing the Republicans will win again in 2026.
Pizzo rejected the idea he would be a spoiler.
“Two things: one, if they think that I’m a spoiler, then they’re concerned about the merit of their own message,” he said. “But the reality is that there are a lot of really, really excited people and groups about my position, about what I said and where I am. I hear it every single day in droves. Listen, this is where happy people should be. And I’ve been in two competitive races. I unseated a sitting state senator in my first race. Remember, it was not a closed primary, so it was open, which meant Republicans, NPAs, and Democrats voted in that race. And I just went to a general [election] this past November where Trump won by three points, and I won by 16. People need to really understand, NPA’s decide who wins elections in this state. There’s 3.7 million of them.”
The 2026 race is likely to be a wild and contentious one, with Republican Congressman Byron Donalds already securing the endorsement of Donald Trump as First Lady Casey DeSantis is also jockeying to jump into the race.
And on the Democratic side, former Republican Congressman David Jolly is also considering a run. On the same day Pizzo switched from Democrat to NPA, Jolly switched from NPA to Democrat.
