The highest-ranking Democrat in the Florida Senate announced in dramatic fashion on Thursday that he was leaving the party, the latest setback for Democrats whose influence in the state has rapidly diminished.
State Senator Jason W.B. Pizzo, whose district includes parts of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in South Florida, said in a speech on the Senate floor that he was changing his voter registration to “no party affiliation,” the most common registration in Florida for independent voters.
“The Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” Mr. Pizzo told his fellow lawmakers. “There are good people that can resuscitate it. But they don’t want it to be me. That’s not convenient. That’s not cool.”
Mr. Pizzo had signaled that he might run for governor next year. He had been visible in many high-profile debates, using his background as a former prosecutor to grill Republicans. But he was also sometimes at odds with fellow Democrats on matters of law and order. Earlier this week, he said critics had accused him of being a racist for calling for an audit of a South Florida municipality with a largely Black population.
“I follow the law,” Mr. Pizzo said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “If anybody’s feelings are hurt and think I’m a racist for my position — suck it.”
Mr. Pizzo did not immediately respond to interview requests on Thursday.
In a statement after Mr. Pizzo announced he was leaving the party, Nikki Fried, the chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, called Mr. Pizzo “one of the most ineffective and unpopular Democratic leaders in recent memory” and said his resignation was “one of the best things to happen to the party in years.”
“His legacy as leader includes continually disparaging the party base, starting fights with other members and chasing his own personal ambitions at the expense of Democratic values,” she said. “The Florida Democratic Party is more united without him.”
Florida was once the nation’s premier presidential battleground state. But after Democrats failed to win competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate in 2018, the party’s organization, fund-raising and influence fell precipitously in the state. Republicans hold every statewide elected office, as well as supermajorities in the State House and Senate.
Mr. Pizzo is the third state lawmaker to leave the Democratic Party this year. State Representatives Hillary Cassel and Susan Valdés switched to the Republican Party in January, saying they felt increasingly disconnected from and unsupported by the Democratic Party.
Evan Power, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, noted the three departures in a statement on Thursday.
“Senator Pizzo didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the party left him,” he said, adding that Mr. Pizzo’s announcement “underscores the radicalization of today’s Democratic Party.”
Mr. Pizzo said on the Senate floor that he would not register as a Republican, because the party “has a lot of problems.”
State Representative Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, the highest-ranking Democrat in the State House, said in a statement: “The Democratic Party is not dead, but if it was, Jason Pizzo should consider the fact that he has been a party leader and would bear some responsibility.”
