Florida State Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo (a Democrat) announced in April that “the Democratic Party in Florida is dead,” and that he would become an Independent rather than a Republican because “the Republican Party has a lot of problems.”
(Note: Pizzo is reportedly considering a run for governor in 2026, as is DeSantis’s wife, Casey DeSantis. Republican Congressman Byron Donalds has already launched his gubernatorial campaign with an endorsement from President Trump.)
At a press conference this week, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked about Pizzo and other Democratic lawmakers in the Sunshine State who have flipped their voter registration to the Republican Party — State Rep. Hillary Cassel, and Tampa Rep. Susan Valdes switched parties in December.
DeSantis noted that there are now 1.2 million more Republicans in the state, compared to the majority of 300,000 more Democrats when he became Governor in 2018.
@GovRonDeSantis rips Democratic lawmakers who have flipped their voter registration to @FloridaGOP
Question was directed at @senpizzo recently becoming an Independent.
“People realize they can’t get elected unless they have an “R” by their name, so you have people that… pic.twitter.com/pqhrqbAXSN
— The Floridian (@Floridianpress) May 6, 2025
DeSantis said of the local politicians changing their party affiliation: “People realize they can’t get elected unless they have an ‘R’ by their name, so you have people that are smuggling their leftism into the Republican Party.” He added, “So they have an R by their name but they’re not governing as Rs.”
The Governor backed up his claim by saying: “And now that you have an almost 3-to-1 majority, and they tried to deep-six our immigration enforcement in January and wanted to do a sanctuary bill, with a 3-to-1 majority, and then they brought in Democrats to change party labels but they still vote very liberal so they haven’t had an epiphany — it’s just more of a pathway to power.”
Many Republicans are responding on X to the DeSantis press conference with enthusiasm and encouragement. As one replied: “TheFLGOP voters need to hear this and heed this message before FL screws itself into gradual progressivism via Trojan Horse. It is happening.”
Others are blaming Chair of the Republican Party of Florida Evan Power for “doing nothing to stop it,” and State Speaker Daniel Perez for “actually encouraging it.”