Florida Senate's Democratic leader says the state party is dead and he's leaving it

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The top Democrat in Florida's Senate is leaving his party, declaring that ''the Democratic Party in Florida is dead."

Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo's announcement on the Senate floor Thursday that he's changing his registration to no party affiliation is the latest blow to a party that has struggled to define itself after a series of crushing electoral losses in recent years.

Pizzo called modern partisanship ''a mess'' and said "constituents are craving practical leaders, not political hacks.''

Once the country's premier swing state, Florida's presidential elections used to be decided by the narrowest of margins. But the state has increasingly slipped out of Democrats' grasp, and the GOP has made significant in-roads in formerly Democratic strongholds like Miami-Dade County. Registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats by more than 1.2 million voters.

Pizzo is on a shortlist of rumored gubernatorial candidates for 2026. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited.

''I think stripping myself of the title of a party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent, and help many, many more," Pizzo said Thursday.

Nikki Fried, the chair of Florida's Democratic Party, called Pizzo ''ineffective and unpopular" in a statement after his announcement.

''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," Fried said. "The Florida Democratic Party is more united without him.''

Pizzo, a former prosecutor who represents parts of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in South Florida, is known as a polished debater willing to openly critique both parties, his leadership role notwithstanding.

His Democratic colleagues in the Senate told reporters they were taken aback by his announcement Thursday, though they said it's not out of character for the ''independent thinker.''

''We're currently in a refocusing phase,'' Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones said of his party. ''I wouldn't say we are dead. I will say that the Democrats have a lot of work to do. And I won't sit here and sugarcoat that at all.''

While Democrats were surprised by the announcement, the office of Florida's Republican Senate President Ben Albritton was notified Thursday morning.

In January, Pizzo told The Associated Press that he would not consider running for governor as an independent and that he welcomed the "challenge'' of working within the Democratic Party.

A string of Florida lawmakers have left the Democratic Party in recent months, including state Reps. Susan Valdés and Hillary Cassel, who both joined the GOP. As a member of her new party, Valdés on Thursday ascended to the top of the House dais, dressed in red, to preside over a floor session.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.