The leader of the Senate minority of the state of Florida, Jason Pizzo, announced Thursday that he will leave the Democratic Party.
“Here is the problem, the Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” Pizzo said in comments on the Senate floor.
He said he had sent a voter registration form to change the affiliation of his party to “no affiliation to the party.”
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Pizzo said that the political system of the State looked like “internal struggles, power struggles, corruption and decline of civic virtue that permeated and finally marked the beginning of the fall of Rome.”
“Thus, we are also players, or maybe accessories, in the disaster that is lower partisanship,” Pizzo said.
Pizzo, considered a potential candidate for the governor next year, said he felt released by his decision.
“I think that taking the title of the designation of the party allows me to run freely, clear, clean and transparent and help many more,” he said in his comments.
Pizzo, who was first chosen for the state Senate in 2018, represents a district that includes parts of Broward and Miami-Dade County. He was previously an assistant state prosecutor at the Miami-Dade State Prosecutor’s Office.
The president of the State Democratic Party, Nikki Fried, said in a statement that the state party was “more united without him.”
“Jason Pizzo is one of the most ineffective and unpopular democratic leaders in recent memory, and his resignation is one of the best things that happens to the game in years,” said Fried. “His legacy as a leader includes continuously belittling the base of the party, starting fights with other members and pursuing their own personal ambitions at the expense of democratic values.”
Pizzo did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Fried’s statement.
Senate Democrats chose Senator Lori Berman as their new leader hours after Pizzo’s announcement. Berman was chosen for the Senate in 2018 to represent Palm Beach County after having served in the State Chamber. Berman did not respond immediately to a comment request on Thursday night.
Other legislators have left the Democratic party in recent months include state representatives Susan Valdés and Hillary Cassel, who announced changing to the Republican party in December.
Evan Power, who presides over the Republican party of Florida, said in a statement that Pizzo “did not leave the Democratic party; the party left it,” pointing to the other two legislators who recently left the game.
“This decision underlines the radicalization of today’s Democratic Party,” Power said.
There are approximately 1.2 million most registered Republican voters than Democrats in Florida. Approximately 26% of all voters registered in the State have no affiliation to the party. Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the presidential elections in the state last year 56.1% to 43%.
