State Sen. Jason Pizzo, moving closer to announcing his candidacy for governor, said Wednesday none of the other actual or potential candidates — including Congressman Byron Donalds and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis — makes any difference to him.
Pizzo, currently the Democratic leader in the Florida Senate, said he didn’t care whether Republicans pick Donalds, DeSantis or someone else.
“Bully for him,” Pizzo said about Donalds declaring his expected candidacy on the Fox News “Hannity” show.
None of the potential Republican nominees, Pizzo said, has done anything to address concerns that are top-of-mind for Floridians, such as the high cost of property insurance.
“If they have the experience to be in and emerge from the primary, they were part of the problem and not the solution, so I don’t really give a s— who the candidate is,” he said.
Pizzo also on Wednesday repeatedly sought to distance himself from the way Republicans depict Democrats. He said, for example, that antisemitism is too prevalent on the political left — and worse in his view than the level of antisemitism on the political right.
Pizzo made his comments during a lunch discussion at the Tower Forum in downtown Fort Lauderdale at which he and state Reps. Christine Hunschofsky and Chip LaMarca previewed the annual legislative session that begins next week.
And Pizzo hinted strongly that he would be running for governor.
“As I do every session, but more so this year — because this may be my last session — I will continue to call out the bull—-. I will continue to identify who’s lying to you, and I will continue to save you money, but most importantly save your life,” he said about how he would approach the legislative session.
He was reelected in 2024 to a four-year term in the Florida Senate representing most of eastern Broward and part of northeast Miami-Dade County. If he runs for governor in 2026, he would have to leave office under the state’s resign-to-run law, though he could serve during next year’s session.
Asked after the lunch what he was thinking about doing and when, he responded: “I think I might be the Democratic nominee for governor. Absolutely. Or go play golf.” Pizzo has a reputation as an excellent golfer.
Pizzo made his comments on antisemitism after Hunschofsky was asked by the moderator — former state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff — about two state representatives who became Republicans last year, after they had been elected as Democrats
Hunschofsky, the northwest Broward lawmaker elected by her colleagues as House Democratic leader after the 2026 elections, emphatically rejected the charge from one of the party switchers, state Rep. Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach, that the Democrats countenance antisemitism.
“I take personal and deep offense to anyone insinuating in any way, shape, or form that because you’re a Democrat you are antisemitic, and I want to be very clear about that,” she said.
Pizzo later asserted there is truth to the charge.
“The crazy left is freaking crazy, and they are antisemitic,” he said, adding there is also a “crazy right” politically. Later, he emphasized the point: “To be clear, you know, the antisemitism overwhelmingly comes from our party.”
Pizzo portrayed himself as a fiscal conservative, different from many of his colleagues. And he said too many Democrats fall into a trap of reflexively responding with outrage to what Republicans do or say.
Taking the bait and failing to think strategically plays into Republican hands, Pizzo said, because it provides a distraction from more important issues that people care about. His advice to fellow Democrats: ”Take a deep breath and don’t say a damn word about it.”
LaMarca, the only Republican besides Cassel in a partisan office in Broward, served his first term at the same time as Donalds’ final term.
“He’s very relatable, also very well educated on the issues, comes from a great family,” LaMarca said. “Ultimately when people talk to him and get to know him, they really like him.
LaMarca called Donalds “a very strong candidate.” But, LaMarca said, it’s early, and others could seek the Republican nomination. Early this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted the possibility of a candidacy by his wife, Casey DeSantis.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
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