The Florida Senate congratulated Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, on Monday after previously being named as the Senate Democratic Leader for the 2024-2026 Legislative term.
"Congratulations to Senator @senPizzo - Senate Democratic Leader for the 2024-2026 Legislative Term," the Florida Senate said.
Recently, Pizzo easily defeated Republican candidate Imtiaz Mohammad by sixteen points (58%-42) to win Senate District 37 in the 2024 general election. SD 37, which Pizzo represents, covers parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Well-respected in the Democratic party, Pizzo was elected unanimously by the Florida Senate Democratic caucus in February 2023 to succeed Lauren Book, D-Davie, as Senate Democratic leader.
A former Miami-Dade prosecutor with a strong party name I.D., Pizzo won his Senate seat in 2018 and won re-election in 2022 without opposition. Before politics, the 48-year-old received his bachelor's degree at New York University, graduate degree at Columbia University, and Law degree at the University of Miami.
Possibly taking a page from his days as a prosecutor, Pizzo has established himself as a sharp, savvy lawmaker during Legislative sessions in Tallahassee. He has also shown an ability to work across party lines in the Republican-dominated chamber.
Pizzo also has been floated as a gubernatorial candidate. Current Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited at the end of 2026.
After squeaking past Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum by 33,000 votes in 2018, DeSantis crushed Democratic candidate Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points to win re-election in 2022.
Florida has not had a Democratic governor since Buddy McKay in 1998-99. Notably, McKay served as lieutenant governor under then-Democratic governor Lawton Chiles before he died in office in 1998.
Since McKay, Florida has elected four Republican governors. They include Governor Jeb Bush (99-07), Charlie Crist (07-11), and DeSantis (19-present). Crist later switched to the Democratic Party in 2012 after a brief stint as an Independent.
Florida also has trended red in recent presidential elections, with former President Barack Obama the last to turn it blue in 2012.
In a recent comment to The Floridan's Javier Manjarres, Pizzo said national Democrats were "completely out of touch" after losing the Presidency, the U.S. Senate, and failing to flip control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2024 general election.
The 2025 Florida Legislative Session is set to begin Mar. 4 and is scheduled to end May 2.
