ORLANDO – On Wednesday afternoon, Orlando attorney John Morgan made waves when he announced that he’s starting up a new political party, WKMG reported.
Morgan made the announcement on social media, claiming that the new party would be “for those of us stuck in the middle.”
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“Our two party system is broken due to Gerrymandering and divisive issues... both sides,” the post reads. “No labels is not an option. Everyone wants a tribe or team.”
According to Morgan, his lawyer is drafting up the paperwork, though he didn’t release any details about what kinds of issues the prospective party would be focused on.
“Stay tuned,” the post ends. “#ForThePeople.”
While it’s not yet clear what Morgan hopes to achieve with this new party, the Orlando attorney has been vocal about his political beliefs in the past, and he spoke with News 6 during election season last year to discuss some of the key political issues that he was pursuing.
In line with his moniker as Florida’s “Pot Daddy,” Morgan told News 6 that he was throwing his support behind Amendment 3, which aimed to legalize recreational marijuana. However, the amendment proposal was ultimately struck down by voters during the general election.
According to Morgan, his push for deregulating marijuana stems from his late brother, who had been injured in an accident at Disney years ago and used the drug to help treat his injury.
The celebrity lawyer also talked about his support for then-President Joe Biden, as well as his initial optimism about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In 2019, DeSantis signed a bill legalizing the use of medicinal marijuana after calling on lawmakers to do so. But more recently, DeSantis came out against Amendment 3, claiming it would only help larger marijuana companies. As a result, Morgan said he became disillusioned with the governor.
“DeSantis says a few big marijuana companies who are footing the bill for this and got their foot in the door in Florida with medical marijuana are now going to make all the money on recreational marijuana,” Morgan said at the time.
Speaking from his vacation home in Maui, Morgan told News 6 that his latest initiative is not an announcement of a gubernatorial run but rather a push to create a centrist alternative in the state’s political landscape.
“The left is crazy. The right is crazy. We are in the middle,” Morgan said in an interview.
Morgan argued that Florida’s political climate has become more focused on party labels than on issues.
“When you take the D and R down, most of us agree on most things. But when you put a D or R next to it, it’s no good,” he said.
Jim Clark, a senior history lecturer at the University of Central Florida, said Morgan’s influence in the state’s political landscape makes his effort significant.
“There’s as many independents and no-party-affiliation voters as there are Republicans,” Clark said. “John Morgan has a lot of influence. I think he wants to see the Democratic Party go back to what was successful for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and get away from the far left.”
Despite his enthusiasm for the new movement, Morgan acknowledged the uncertainty of its success.
“I think there is a huge risk. I think it might not happen,” Morgan said. “But if you don’t try, if you don’t take a moonshot, you never go to the moon.”
Morgan said he is waiting to gauge public response before making any decisions about running for office himself.
“I’m at a point in my life where I want to move from success to significance,” Morgan said. “It may be something I look at and say there’s no chance in hell. So if that’s the case, I’m not going to go down that road. And by the way, this is not necessarily a vehicle for me.”
As for potential names for the party, Morgan mentioned “The People’s Party” and “The Sunshine Party,” but he said no final decision has been made.