Florida state Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo announced Thursday that he is leaving the Democratic Party.
“Here’s the issue, the Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” Pizzo said in remarks on the Senate floor.
He said he had sent in a voter registration form to change his party affiliation to “no party affiliation."
Follow live politics coverage here
Pizzo said the state's political system resembled "the infighting, power struggles, corruption and decline of civic virtue that pervaded and eventually ushered in the fall of Rome."
"So, too, are we players, or perhaps props, in the mess that is bottom partisanship,” Pizzo said.
Pizzo, who is considered a potential candidate for governor next year, said he felt liberated by his decision.
“I think stripping myself of the title of the party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent and help many, many more,” he said in his remarks.
Pizzo, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2018, represents a district that includes parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. He previously was an assistant state attorney in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
State Democratic Party Chair 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 to happen to the party in years,” Fried said. “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.”
Pizzo did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Fried's statement.
Senate Democrats elected Sen. Lori Berman as their new leader hours after Pizzo's announcement. Berman was elected to the Senate in 2018 to represent part of Palm Beach County after having served in the state House.
Berman commented on her new leadership post through an aide.
"I am honored and humbled to have the support of my colleagues to serve as the next Leader of the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus," Berman said in a statement. "At a time when Floridians are demanding results, clarity, and courage, our caucus is more unified and more determined than ever."
Other lawmakers have left the Democratic Party in recent months include state Reps. Susan Valdes and Hillary Cassel, who announced switches to the Republican Party in December.
Evan Power, who chairs the Republican Party of Florida, said in a statement that Pizzo “didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the party left him,” noting the two other lawmakers who recently left the party.
“This decision underscores the radicalization of today’s Democratic Party,” Power said.
There are roughly 1.2 million more registered Republican voters than Democrats in Florida. Roughly 26% of all registered voters in the state have no party affiliation. Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the presidential election in the state last year 56.1% to 43%.
