(NewsNation) — The top Florida state Senate Democrat grew tired of trying to resuscitate a political party that he insists is dead, which led Jason Pizzo to shed his political loyalties this week.
Pizzo, now an independent, announced Thursday that he no longer has any party affiliation after losing faith in the direction Democrats are headed. Asked Friday if his decision to leave the party was based on Florida Democrats or the party as a whole, Pizzo told “The Hill” that both factored into his decision.
Pizzo also said he blames himself for spending so many years financially supporting and helping raise millions of dollars “to try to artificially resuscitate a group or clutch of people that really have no direction and have no purpose on how to solve things with sound policy.”
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Pizzo previously criticized Democrats on social media for failing to applaud a 13-year-old boy with brain cancer, DJ Daniel, during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. But he said his decision to leave the party went deeper.
“I belong to, or have belonged to, a party that’s far more concerned at times about pronouns than about property taxes (and) that just wastes so much time and sucks the oxygen and capacity,” Pizzo told “The Hill”.
In a statement issued Thursday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called Pizzo’s decision to leave the party “one of the best things to happen to the party in years.”
“His legacy as a leader includes continually disparaging the party base, starting fights with other members, and chasing his own personal ambitions at the expense of Democratic values,” Fried said.
Pizzo said on Friday that too many times, Democrats became guilty of “taking the bait on socially divisive issues” that were “loud distractions” by Republicans. Instead, party members became consumed with issues driven by lobbyists rather than those affecting voters.
“I think that Democrats right now in the country at large are incredibly thirsty, they’re incredibly hungry for something,” Pizzo told “The Hill”.
Pizzo said he has no plans to jump to the Republican side of the aisle, calling the amount of infighting happening in Florida “crazy.” Asked about a possible run at governor, Pizzo only indicated that he would continue to “keep working really hard.”
