John Morgan lays out campaign blueprint for possible Florida governor run
He wasn't definitive Wednesday after talking for nearly an hour at the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee. But in profanity-laden remarks interspersed with jokes and slams against Republicans and Democrats alike, he laid out what could be a campaign blueprint.
Morgan criticized Democrats — a party he once donated huge sums to — as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis and a Legislature he said cared more about special interests than helping with the problems residents are dealing with. He said, 'I believe that whether you're on the far left or the far right that the defining problem in our country today is income inequality. People can't afford to live.'
A Morgan candidacy would jolt a contest that already features GOP Rep. Byron Donalds and probably David Jolly, a former Republican representative who recently became a Democrat. First lady Casey DeSantis remains a possibility and sidestepped a question about a bid during an event held in Brandon on Wednesday with the governor.
Morgan, who is extremely wealthy, has already proven to be a successful campaigner as the architect and primary funder of ballot initiatives that raised the state's minimum wage and legalized medical marijuana.
When it came to running for governor, Morgan said he is willing to spend time and money to mount a campaign and said James Carville once told him that a governor 'can do more good than any other person in the country.' But he admitted he goes back and forth about the idea.
'There are moments where I go, you know what? I could do it. I could do it. And then when I'm sitting in Hawaii with the marijuana cigarettes and a glass of rosé and then,' Morgan said before pausing, noting the age of newly selected Pope Leo XIV and adding he's 'deep, deep, deep' in the fourth quarter of life at the age of 69.
Morgan told reporters, however, that he is serious about a potential run. But the Kentucky native said he wants to see how other potential candidates fare down the back 'stretch' before jumping in. He acknowledged — without giving any names — that if certain people run then he might be motivated to get into the contest.
The attorney has tremendous name recognition already and said that as someone who has mounted a successful initiative campaign, 'I have an advantage that nobody, that nobody else really has.' He said he can afford to wait.
'I think I'd rather reach running a sprint than running a marathon,' he said. 'I'd rather have a three-month window than an 18-month window.'
Morgan says if he does run, it would not be as an independent, and he was skeptical of state Sen. Jason Pizzo's efforts to run with no party affiliation, saying Americans like to be on a team. He is moving ahead with plans to launch a third party that he said is needed to represent those in the middle who are not aligned with the far-left and far-right wings of the Democratic and Republican Parties.
'We're stuck in the middle and we don't have a voice, any voice, but yet we have a lot to say but we're paralyzed,' Morgan said.
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