Attorney John Morgan
Attorney plans to become independent, says he is ‘a long way’ from running
announces on Twitter that he will not run for governor as a Democrat, plans to become an independent and is “a long way” from running.
TALLAHASSEE — Orlando trial attorney, businessman and Democratic fundraiser John Morgan will not seek the Democratic nomination for governor next year.
In two Twitter posts Friday morning, Morgan said he plans to leave the Democratic Party to become an independent.
“Spent all of Thanksgiving with my whole family,” Morgan wrote. “While it’s amazing to be leading the polls for Governor without being a candidate I can’t muster the enthusiasm to run for the nomination.”
“And I can’t muster enthusiasm for any of today’s politicians,” Morgan continued. “They are all the same. Both parties. I plan to register as an Independent and when I vote, vote for the lesser of two evils. And if I ever ran, run as an Independent. #ForThePeople.”
In follow-up emails with the Orlando Sentinel on Friday, Morgan said he’s “a long way” from running as an independent but still left the door open to it.
“If I ever ran, it would be next year,” Morgan wrote. “Everyone says if you do it that way [run as an independent] you have no chance. Which is what makes it appealing to me.”
Morgan led four other Democratic candidates in a poll released by the Florida Chamber of Commerce in September, but most voters were still undecided.
“The reason I led in the polls is because I answer questions directly and don’t run from them,” Morgan said. “There is a reason that politicians are despised universally. They worry more about the next election than their next-door neighbor.”
His decision still leaves a crowded field in the Democratic primary, with Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine and Winter Park businessman Chris King vying for the nomination.
“John is a dear friend,” Graham stated. “And I know that he will continue to fight for Floridians every day.”
The Republican field could be chock full of candidates as well. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and state Sen. Jack Latvala have declared their candidacies, and Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis are considering their own bids.
During a 30-minute interview with the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday, Morgan had given no indication he was opting out of the race, and previously said he wouldn’t decide until next spring.
But Morgan also said he was leery of the financial-disclosure requirements of candidates and elected officials, which would have forced
him to reveal his financial interests. He said he owns or co-owns about 400 different entities, which include his Morgan & Morgan law office and the Orlando attraction Wonderworks, as well as several tracts of land throughout the state.
“I don’t like the idea of … anybody knowing my business, and I really don’t like the idea of everybody knowing my business,” Morgan said Wednesday. “It is a drawback.”
Morgan was also concerned the race could interfere with his businesses, which “could bring my family generational wealth,” he wrote. “That is a factor. And the life I enjoy now is one I never could have imagined growing up in Kentucky.”
Morgan said he had grown disillusioned with the stance of Democratic candidates regarding legalizing marijuana in the state. His high-profile push to legalize medical marijuana, which failed in 2014 but was approved by voters in 2016, along with his ubiquitous commercials for his law firm gave him widespread name recognition and Democratic credibility across the state.
When the GOP-led Legislature passed a measure installing the the medical marijuana measure that forbid smoking, he filed a lawsuit and declared he was in favor of legalizing marijuana completely. He’s also pushing for a measure to be placed on the ballot in 2020 which would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the course of five years.
“When I went to the Democratic dinner recently and the candidates were talking, I left,” Morgan wrote. “All full of [expletive] and saying absolutely nothing.”
“I plan to ask every one of them to raise money for the fair-wage amendment,” he continued. “And I will keep score. Not one of them, when asked by me, could answer a straight question. ‘Are you in favor of legalizing (marijuana) in Florida?’ Just dead silence. They are all very nice people that have no core values other than getting to the next office. Both parties.”