Orlando attorney John Morgan won't say he's running for governor. But he is starting a new party
But the high-profile Florida lawyer, who is known nationally for his billboards and TV ads with his 'For the People' slogan and for getting medical marijuana and a $15 minimum wage approved in Florida, is not running, he told members of the Capital Tiger Bay Club Wednesday.
Not yet, anyway.
But he is starting his own political party.
'If there are certain people running and have a chance of being governor, it may be too much for me to bear,' Morgan said.
'There are moments when I think I could do it, but when I am in my house in Hawaii with a marijuana cigarette and a glass of rosé…' he added, letting the thought trail off.
Instead, he said, he's going to take a wait-and-see approach before deciding if he wants to enter the fray.
'I'm into horse racing,' said Morgan, who was born in Kentucky and spent most of his childhood there until his family moved to Winter Park when he was 14. 'When you go to the horse races, the horses come out, they come down the back, they come around. And when they start coming down the stretch that's when you have a good idea how that race is going to finish.'
That way it's more of a sprint than a marathon, Morgan told a gaggle of reporters after an hour-long speech peppered with anecdotes and the names of national political people he knows. 'I'd rather have a three month window than an 18-month window.'
So far, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Naples, is the only major candidate to file to run for governor in 2026, when Gov. Ron DeSantis is required to step down because of term limits.
Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, could wind up running against First Lady Casey DeSantis should she decide to run, as has long been rumored.
Former Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo of Miami, who abruptly quit the Democratic Party during the last days of the regular legislative session, has also said he would run for governor as an independent and committed to spend $25 million of his own money. In his speech announcing he would leave the party, Pizzo said the Democrats were 'dead' in Florida but also felt the GOP offered nothing.
Morgan agreed that both parties have failed Floridians, and he blamed former Tallahassee Commissioner Andrew Gillum, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, for 'smashing' the state apparatus that year. Morgan donated heavily to Gillum's campaign and got angry when he learned that Gillum left at least $2 million unspent and lost by 'a smidge' to DeSantis.
He said he didn't know Pizzo but didn't think he had the necessary name recognition to win. And besides, he said, he couldn't think of the last time an independent candidate won a statewide election in Florida.
'I don't think there's a future for just running as an independent,' Morgan said. People tend to identify with teams, he said, and there needs to be a team for those who are alienated by both Republicans and Democrats.
To that end, Morgan proposed starting a third party. But first it needs a name, so he plans to send out a notice after Memorial Day asking people to come up with a moniker for the party and award a cash prize to the winner.
Morgan ran a similar contest four years ago when he asked people to come up with a jingle for his law firm, and got bombarded with submissions. The winner worked at a bar in Altamonte Springs and got $100,000.
Morgan has the political savvy to start a statewide party. He's successfully run two statewide campaigns — investing millions of his own money into ballot initiatives to legalize medical marijuana and raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
'There has to be a team for all of us stuck in the middle,' Morgan said. 'There's a whole bunch of us. Maybe more of us than them to the left and the right that are stuck in the middle. Reminds me of that song, clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.'
He's already spent the money on a consultant to help file the paperwork to start a new party, and now needs to recruit enough candidates to make it viable, he said.
'And then I want to say, 'Who wants to join?'' Morgan said. 'And look, I may turn around with a trombone and turn around and find nobody is marching behind me down Main Street. And that's OK.'
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Miami Herald
7 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Foundation run out of a townhouse won millions from Tallahassee, Miami-Dade. Why?
From a West Miami townhouse, the A3 Foundation has spent its first two years in existence racking up nearly $2 million in government funding from Miami-Dade County and the state. This year, the nonprofit led by a top official in the city of Miami's government came out of Florida's legislative session with a $950,000 allocation of state money — nearly double what the charity had requested. Of that, $450,000 came from the 'sprinkle list' fund of unassigned state budget dollars controlled by House Speaker Danny Perez, a Miami Republican who is friendly with the foundation's president, Francisco Petrirena. Petrirena told the Miami Herald last week that he's earning $80,000 a year running the A3 Foundation while also working full-time as chief of staff to Miami City Manager Art Noriega. 'Right now, it's only me,' Petrirena said of his work for a foundation he formed in the fall of 2023 that has since secured millions of dollars in funding through the state and Miami-Dade County. In 2024 and 2025, the charity collected nearly $1 million from Miami-Dade in connection with CountryFest, the rodeo and farming festival hosted each year at Tropical Park by County Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, a close friend of Perez. County emails made public this week illuminate how the A3 Foundation secured county dollars while largely staying out of the public eye, until it wound up the beneficiary of a Parks contract at last week's County Commission meeting. The emails show Rodriguez connected A3 with the signature county event in his district — and the county funding that comes with it. In a July 9, 2024, email to David Clodfelter, the county's budget director, for instance, a staffer in Rodriguez's office asked about getting a $421,000 check for the nonprofit. A3 had sent CountryFest invoices to Rodriguez's office, needing county dollars to pay event vendors. 'David per our conversation attached is the invoice that needs to be paid to A3 Foundation Inc for the 2024 CountryFest show,' Aldo Gonzalez, Rodriguez's legislative director, wrote. 'Can you please confirm this and make the payment as soon as possible please.' Rodriguez did not respond to a question on why Miami-Dade is using A3 to pay county dollars to CountryFest vendors. Online records show A3 began collecting county payments in the spring of 2024, six months after Petrirena filed papers forming the nonprofit in September 2023. Nearly two years later, the foundation's mailing address in state records remains at the West Miami townhouse, where an accountant not listed on A3's organizing documents runs a home business. The Herald visited the townhouse last week and, after nobody answered the door, left a letter requesting copies of the foundation's latest tax returns — documents that federal law says should be available for public inspection. The Herald has not received a response. As of Tuesday, A3's website had no contact information and blank entries under the page titled 'Our Programs.' That hasn't stopped it from getting a steady stream of dollars from Miami-Dade. Funded with budget allocations by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and County Commission nonprofit grants, the charity has so far received about $980,000 from Miami-Dade, according to an online database of county payments. County records show commissioners allocated about $270,000 to the A3 Foundation over the last two years, utilizing funds reserved for charities and nonprofit events. The awards are granted by County Commission votes, which are typically perfunctory at the end of a meeting. Rodriguez sponsored the largest donations to A3, worth $100,000. Now, the foundation's local funding is causing friction at County Hall, days after Levine Cava unveiled a 2026 budget proposal with steep cuts in grants for charities across Miami-Dade. Following a Herald story last week on last-minute legislation on a Parks Department contract that requires a vendor to make annual payments to A3, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins is asking Levine Cava to freeze the deal until the board can revisit its July 16 vote, which guarantees the foundation $250,000 a year. The payments to A3 would come from Loud and Live, the production company that last week secured the county contract to operate Tropical Park's equestrian center, home to CountryFest and other ticketed events, in exchange for paying rent and a revenue share to Miami-Dade. The A3 payments are a requirement of the contract, which was presented to the board by Rodriguez in legislation that passed by a wide margin last week. 'After reviewing the media reporting and attempting to learn more, I have found limited publicly available information regarding the organization's track record, including the services delivered, people served, and documented outcomes,' Higgins, a candidate for mayor in the city of Miami, wrote in an email to Levine Cava, a fellow Democrat, on Sunday. 'The article has understandably prompted questions from constituents.' In a response to Higgins on Monday, Levine Cava wrote: 'Thanks for sharing these concerns and we will review right away.' Payments from Miami-Dade and Florida A3's website offers no information on charitable work performed by the foundation. The website offers a brief mission statement for the charity: 'The A3 Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture, advocating for educational opportunities, and creating awareness of community priorities.' Petrirena has not responded to inquiries since a brief phone interview last week. The 20-year contract for Loud and Live is forecast to generate at least $24 million for Miami-Dade's Parks Department, with the Doral company also required to pay A3 monthly installments worth $5 million over the life of the deal. The contract stipulates that if the Parks Department pays to upgrade the 50-acre equestrian center, the A3 payment requirement increases from $250,000 to $300,000 per year. The contract negotiated by Levine Cava's staff included the terms requiring the payments be made to an unnamed charity, but mention of A3 Foundation as the recipient did not come until Rodriguez added the legislation to the July 16 commission meeting agenda. Higgins joined the majority in approving the item, which Rodriguez added to the agenda late enough that any commissioner could have requested a delay until the board's next meeting. While no commissioner asked for more time to review the contract, two voted against the agreement without comment: Juan Carlos Bermudez and Micky Steinberg. Neither responded to requests for comment from the Herald. The vote came the day after Levine Cava unveiled a 2026 budget proposal that cuts more than $40 million in nonprofit grant funding, part of the mayor's plan to close a $402 million deficit in the county's tax-funded budget. In a statement, Rodriguez defended the required A3 payments in Loud and Live's contract as a good way for Miami-Dade to use private dollars to fund a charity that can help the community. 'The A3 Foundation is an ag-focused nonprofit organization that, while new, has served our community well,' said Rodriguez, a first-term Republican whose suburban district includes Tropical Park. 'If private entities are going to partner with our county for profit, it's important that those entities give back by way of supporting our local nonprofits. I am grateful for the work that A3 does and am proud to support them.' A3 Foundation has received tax dollars for Tropical Park's CountryFest County records show A3 serves as the clearinghouse for Miami-Dade dollars used to fund CountryFest, a springtime event put on by Loud and Live. Once a county cattle show, Rodriguez rebranded the event as CountryFest after winning his District 10 seat in 2022 and turned it into a Tropical Park jamboree with live music, a VIP saloon with open bar and a food truck village. Visitors to the two-day event that started April 26 walked under a welcome sign with Rodriguez's name on it. When Rodriguez's office requested the $421,000 check for A3 last summer, the funds came partly out of the Parks Department's $250,000 allocation for CountryFest, according to the correspondence released from the county's Clerk of the Court and Comptroller's Office. The remaining money came from federal COVID stimulus aid that Miami-Dade was using to boost nonprofit funding, the correspondence said. Attached to the email was a one-page invoice from A3 using the townhouse address, listing a $421,000 charge for vendor payments. In March, another check request came from Rodriguez's office for $300,000, again with a one-page invoice from A3 weeks ahead of CountryFest starting. Also included in the backup materials for the check request is legislation Rodriguez had passed in 2024, waiving the county's bid requirements and purchasing rules for CountryFest. 'We ask that you please process this invoice as soon as possible as they need to start paying for things related to this event,' Gonzalez, the Rodriguez aide, wrote to the county's budget office on March 25. It's not known why Rodriguez wanted a foundation to collect county dollars for CountryFest instead of Miami-Dade paying Loud and Live directly. As a nonprofit, A3 could accept tax-deductible sponsorship dollars for CountryFest. But A3's website makes no mention of CountryFest or its ability to put on an event that attracts more than 25,000 attendees a year. Also unclear is how the foundation got its name. 'A3' does have a potential connection to CountryFest's main patron and official host. Rodriguez and his wife have three children, each with a name that starts with 'A,' according to the Rodriguez biography still available on a webpage for the Florida House, where he served between 2018 and 2022. Rodriguez did not respond to a Herald inquiry about whether the foundation's name is a nod to his family. It's not known if Rodriguez has a friendship with Petrirena, but they share a friend in Perez. Rodriguez has described Perez as his best friend. In an interview, Perez said he knows Petrirena and is friendly with him. The two worked together at Doctors HealthCare Plans, where Perez is general counsel and Petrirena was a manager before starting as the city of Miami's in-house lobbyist at the end of 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. In a Sept. 18, 2023, post on his private Instagram account, Petrirena shared a photo of himself standing with Perez on the Florida House floor the day that fellow Republicans formally voted to put Perez in line to be speaker the following year. Of his then-colleague and fellow Cuban American, Petrirena wrote: '3rd Cuban American in the history of Florida to serve as speaker. Proud of you bro, and to be part of this historic moment.' The post came seven days after Petrirena filed papers with Florida to form the A3 Foundation and weeks before he started his job with the city of Miami as director of government relations, overseeing the city's lobbying efforts in Tallahassee. While working for Miami to boost state funding, Petrirena also was seeking state dollars for A3. Last year, he filed a request for $500,000 for A3 in the 2025 state budget but ended the session empty-handed. The A3 Foundation filed another $500,000 request this year, and lawmakers included the money in spending bills in the Florida House and Senate. Then Perez added more when he released his list of funding awards from a pot of money that's traditionally been granted to House speakers. A3 was at the top of the alphabetical list, giving the foundation $450,000 more in state funds than it asked for. That landed A3 with a $950,000 allocation in the budget Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last month. In an interview, Perez said he picked A3 for the additional dollars from his so-called 'sprinkle list' because of what he said is the foundation's plan to bring agricultural education to Miami-Dade residents with developmental disabilities. 'There are going to be multiple organizations on the 'sprinkle list' that are autism-centric,' Perez said. A3's status as a charity in Miami-Dade also made it a good choice for extra state dollars, he said: 'I wanted to make sure we brought home money to the Miami area.' Perez said his personal connections with Petrirena played no role in the allocation. 'There are many elected officials who know many people that receive funds from the state,' Perez said in an interview Monday. 'He did not receive this because he is friends with the speaker. He received it because it is an organization that is going to immerse agricultural education within the disabled community.'
The Hill
7 minutes ago
- The Hill
Virginia Republicans sound alarm over governor's race: ‘It's a disaster'
Virginia Republicans are raising alarm bells about the state of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears's (R) campaign in the state's closely watched gubernatorial race. Last week, news broke that Earle-Sears's campaign manager Will Archer was removed from his post but would remain on her campaign in a different capacity. The development came as polls show Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger in the lead. Now, some Republicans are warning that further shake-ups are needed if they want to win in what is seen as the most significant bellwether this year. 'From my vantage point and the people we're talking to, it's a disaster,' said one Virginia Republican operative who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Conservative talk show host John Fredericks has been one of the most vocal figures to raise concerns about the state of the race, pointing directly to Earle-Sears's campaign. 'This thing is a clown car she's got going on,' Fredericks, who served as Trump's 2016 and 2020 Virginia campaign chair, said in an interview with The Hill, calling the campaign 'a dreadful operation.' 'And it's frustrating everyone in Virginia,' he added. Virginia Republican Party Chair and state Sen. Mark Peake (R) pushed back on Fredericks's characterization of the campaign as 'a clown car' during an interview with the talk show host last week. 'I think we're fixing it as we speak,' Peake told Fredericks, referring to the campaign. 'Lt. Gov. Sears had a strategy at the beginning of the campaign. I think they've executed it well.' 'I think what you are about to see based on what has happened this week is a change of strategy in the campaign, which is now going to be more obvious, more out in the open, more public, more events, and much more responsive to media,' he continued. A Virginia Commonwealth University poll released last week showed Spanberger leading Earle-Sears with 49 percent support to 37 percent among registered voters in the state. The poll also showed downballot race margins mirroring the top of the ticket. Last week, Spanberger also reported a massive second-quarter fundraising haul of $10.7 million. Earle-Sears's campaign announced that Thursday marked its 'best single fundraising day' since their launch last September, but it did not publicly disclose how much it had raised. 'We'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the liberal media. They spent all week attacking Winsome, and it turns out that was the best fundraiser we've ever had,' said Mark Harris, Earle-Sears's general consultant. 'The media wants this to be a coronation for the left, but Virginia voters clearly have other plans. If this keeps up, we might start sending them flowers,' he continued. According to the latest campaign finance data from the Virginia Public Access Project, Spanberger has raised $27 million since she jumped into the race in November 2023 and has more than $15 million in the bank. Earle-Sears has raised more than $11 million since launching her campaign and has more than $4 million cash on hand. On top of the fundraising and polling disparities, Republicans have also expressed concern over the optics of the shake-up involving Archer, who worked as a pastor prior to joining the campaign, coupled with the exit of Earle-Sears's former political director, Richard Wagner. One GOP strategist said the developments are emblematic of 'a lack of experience on Winsome's campaign right now.' 'It's disappointing,' the strategist said. 'It's easy to go win races in wave years, but competitive races take a competitive edge. And right now with Winsome's team you're not getting any of that from her very well-paid consultants.' 'They just don't seem to have a fire under them. It's more like a safe-seat race than one where you have to bulldoze your way across the commonwealth to add to the coalition to win a very purple state.' There's also a concern that Earle-Sears's standing could drag down the rest of the Republican ticket, which is made up of technically separate races. In the lieutenant governor's race, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) leads conservative talk show host John Reid with 46 percent support to 36 percent, while in the attorney general race, former state Del. Jay Jones (D) leads current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) with 47 percent support to 38 percent. The last time Virginians voted to split a ticket was in 2005, when now-Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was elected governor and Republican Bill Bolling won the lieutenant governor's race. Miyares is seen by many Republicans in the state as the strongest component of the GOP ticket, given his incumbency status and what Republicans see as his talent on the campaign trail. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Miyares has nearly $7 million cash on hand, which is more than Earle-Sears's own. 'If she can't raise a lot of money soon, there's going to be a sense that the best thing they can do is try to salvage the Miyares campaign because an attorney general in Virginia has independent powers,' said veteran Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth. 'Sears at the moment is not defining the campaign,' he continued. 'The most visible Republican campaign is the campaign against Jay Jones.' Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who is term-limited, is seen as one of the best hopes for Republicans. The governor is still seen as relatively popular as he approaches the end of his tenure. Additionally, Earle-Sears and Miyares benefited from Youngkin's 2021 campaign, which saw Republicans make inroads throughout the commonwealth. 'The only thing that can save [Earle-Sears] is Glenn Youngkin,' Fredericks told The Hill. 'Glenn Youngkin has to take this campaign over right now, lock, stock and barrel. 'Other than that, she and the entire ticket is going to get blown out,' he added. When pressed by Fredericks on when the governor and his political apparatus would 'take this thing over,' Youngkin said that 'we've got to go to work as a group.' 'I am deeply engaged with them,' he said, citing events he and the lieutenant governor have done together. 'I'm going to be campaigning for all of the candidates. This is going to be an important run for us to make sure that everybody understands where we are today is not a given.' Youngkin added that at this point during his 2021 race against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), he was down in the polls between 6 and 11 points. Fredericks told The Hill last week that he believes Earle-Sears and her campaign have about two weeks to turn things around, noting that Spanberger is running out the clock in the meantime. 'She's going against a weak campaign and so she's playing four-corners keep-away basketball,' he said. 'You get a big lead, you're in there early in the fourth corner, you just run out the clock.'
Newsweek
8 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Approval Rating With Men Hits Rock Bottom
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's approval rating among men has dropped to a second term low, according to one poll, marking a significant shift in a demographic long seen as a pillar of his political base. According to new CBS/YouGov polling, just 47 percent of men said they approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 53 percent disapprove—putting the president 6 points underwater among the key demographic. The drop coincides with Trump's slipping in approval among the voting bloc on his handling of the economy, inflation and immigration—three central issues in his winning campaign in 2024. Why It Matters Men have traditionally been one of the strongest bases of support for Republicans. And in 2024, 55 percent of male voters supported Trump. The president also made significant inroads with young men, who historically have leaned more toward the Democrats. In 2024, 53 percent of men aged 18-44 broke for Trump, up from 45 percent in 2020, when former President Joe Biden won the demographic with 52 percent of the vote. In YouGov/CBS polling, Trump's support among this key voting bloc has dropped by double digits over the last six months, which could impact upcoming primaries and the 2026 midterm elections. What To Know The data shows a consistent downward trend in Trump's standing with men over the past five months. On February 7, Trump enjoyed 60 percent approval among the demographic, with just 40 percent saying they disapproved—a 20-point net positive. His numbers started slipping in the voting bloc after that. By February 28, his approval had slipped to 56 percent, with 44 percent disapproving. On March 28, he recovered slightly to 58 percent approval and a 16-point net positive, but that bounce was short-lived. By April 11, Trump's support among men had dropped to 49 percent, while disapproval climbed to 51 percent, putting him just 2 points below water and marking the first time he fell into a negative net rating. Two weeks later, on April 25, the numbers leveled off at 50 percent approve and 50 percent disapprove. The same split held in the next round of polling on June 6. But the most recent data, from polling conducted between July 16 and July 18 among 2,343 adults, marks the first time the trend has definitively broken against the president. The erosion of Trump's support among men is mirrored in issue-specific polling, which shows a downward trajectory of his previously strong lead on three key policy areas: the economy, inflation, and immigration. In February, Trump had a net of plus 14 points on the economy, plus 4 points on inflation, and plus 16 points on immigration among male voters. But April marked a sharp turning point. His net approval among men on the economy plunged to minus 10 by April 11, and inflation dropped to minus 20. Even his lead on immigration—typically one of his most consistent strengths—fell to just plus 6. President Donald Trump speaks during a dinner for Republican senators in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 18, 2025, in Washington President Donald Trump speaks during a dinner for Republican senators in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 18, 2025, in Washington Alex Brandon/AP Though there were signs of stabilization in May and early June—with Trump regaining modest ground on inflation (minus 8) and immigration (plus 14)—by July 18, all three issue ratings had either plateaued or worsened. The president's net rating among men now stands at minus 8 on the economy, minus 18 on inflation, and flat on immigration. The collapse is especially significant given that these issues were central to Trump's appeal with male voters in both his 2016 and 2024 election victories. The data suggests that men—particularly working- and middle-class voters—are increasingly frustrated with economic uncertainty, inflation and border control in Trump's second term. Additional polling offers insight into what's driving the shift. Forty-nine percent of men say they believe Trump's handling of immigration is too tough, and 52 percent oppose the way his administration is using detention facilities. A majority—61 percent—say that immigration and deportation policy is a key factor in how they evaluate Trump's presidency, meaning erosion here carries clear electoral risk. This dip in numbers comes as Trump, in his second term, has aggressively expanded immigration enforcement—launching mass deportation operations, increasing raids in sanctuary cities, and reviving thousands of old deportation cases. His administration has dramatically scaled up detention capacity, allocating $45 billion to expand ICE facilities and construct large-scale temporary camps, including a tent facility in Florida nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz." On the economy, 49 percent of men say the economy is getting worse, while 65 percent say Trump is not focusing enough on lowering the cost of goods and services. At the same time, 60 percent believe Trump is focusing too much on tariffs, and 57 percent say his policies are directly raising the price of groceries. Fifty-five percent of men say the economy and inflation are critical to how they judge the president. Annual inflation rose 2.7 percent in June, up from 2.4 percent in May, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Meanwhile, Americans now face an average tariff rate of 18.7 percent, the highest since 1933, according to the Yale Budget Lab. The dip in men voting support comes as polls have shown Trump's approval rating at an all-time low across demographics. Newsweek's tracker currently shows Trump's net approval rating at minus 9 points, with 44 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving. That is among one of Trump's lowest net approval ratings in recent weeks. What Happens Next Trump's approval rating among men is likely to fluctuate throughout his second term. It could play a key role in whether Republicans are able to keep control of the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.
