Morgan says he is creating a new party for 'those of us stuck in the middle'

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the other Republican politicians in Florida may soon have a challenger, but he's not from the Democratic Party.

Orlando attorney and Democratic megadonor John Morgan announced Wednesday that he was forming a new political party "for those of us stuck in the middle."

"Our two party system is broken due to Gerrymandering and divisive issues… both sides," he said in a post on X , formerly Twitter. "No labels is not an option. Everyone wants a team or tribe."

The attorney, whose face may be seen on billboards across the Sunshine State, has teased a run for governor in 2026 and is famous for his enthusiastic support for legal marijuana and higher minimum wage.

This is not his first call for a third party. In January 2024, he told Politico if he ran for governor he'd do it under a new party. He called for one again in July after former president Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Harris stepped in.

What is John Morgan's new political party?

Morgan has not announced a name for the proposed party, although he stresses the party is for "us." The slogan his personal injury firm, Morgan & Morgan , has used for years is "For the People."

In his interview with Politico last year he said his proposed new party would be called the “Capitalist Party.”

"Both parties have things I like," he said in a subsequent post Thursday morning . "But what I don’t like is that everything is a bloodsport. It’s all or nothing. Compromise is a dirty word and civility has been abandoned. The last time America was together was right after 9/11.

"And I liked that feel. Just like the greatest generation in WW2. People… we are all on the same f---ing team."

Morgan, who is registered in Florida as having No Party Affiliation (he switched from being a Democrat in 2020, records show) but often donates to Democrats, said he didn't vote for President Donald Trump or for Vice President Kamala Harris, but "I’m pulling like hell for Trump."

"It’s time for a third choice," he said. "If the choice is only vanilla or chocolate… you never get to eat strawberry.

Morgan said he learned from the last recreational marijuana amendment attempt that when an issue isn't associated with a party, "most of us agree on most things." He cited marijuana, minimum wage, felons rights and fair districts as examples and said that most laws passed today "benefit insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and other monopolies.

"How about some laws for the people?"

Who is John Morgan?

John Bryan Morgan, 68, is widely known as the founder of Morgan & Morgan , which claims to be the largest personal injury firm in the country. Morgan has been seen photoshopped into racecars, bodybuilder beach bodies and superhero outfits, all while advertising the firm's work "For the People."

Morgan was born in Lexington, Kentucky, but moved with his parents and four younger siblings to Winter Park, Florida when he was 14. Both his parents were alcoholics, he said, and as the family struggled, Morgan started working at Dairy Queen, started several businesses, performed magic at Disney World and even put on the costumes and portrayed "The Jungle Book" orangutan King Louie, one of the Three Little Pigs and Pluto .

He graduated from Winter Park High and, after seeing how Disney's lawyers "crushed" his brother Tim after he was injured while working as a lifeguard at Disney World's Polynesian Resort, he went on to get a bachelor's degree in arts from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law where he served as the elected president of the prestigious Florida Blue Key leadership society.

Morgan started at the law firm of Billings, Morgan (no relation) & Cunningham in Orlando but left to co-found Griffin, Morgan and Linder in 1985. After three years he left to found Morgan, Collins & Gilbert, where he could be more aggressive with television and radio ads, still a relatively new thing at the time for lawyers. The firm rapidly grew as Morgan continuously pushed for more ads on TV, phone book covers and highways.

In 2005 Morgan bought out his partners and renamed the firm Morgan & Morgan, bringing in his wife Ultima Ann Degnan as a partner. The law firm currently has over 1,000 attorneys and thousands of support members with offices in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. according to the company's website . Three of the couple's four children work for the firm.

John Morgan, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton

Morgan, a huge and longtime political donor, has worked as an advisor to political leaders and presidents and counts Barack Obama and Bill Clinton among his friends. For a time former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked for him.

Morgan has been Florida's biggest advocate for legal marijuana, saying it was the only thing that helped his father while he was dying from cancer and his brother whose arms and legs were paralyzed after diving into the pool at a Disney resort. He sunk millions of dollars into two campaigns to make medical marijuana legal and the amendment succeeded in 2016 medical marijuana, passing with 71% of the vote.

After the Florida Legislature passed a law banning smokable weed, Morgan sued the state and ultimately the law was dropped thanks to efforts from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and new Governor DeSantis.

He advocated heavily for last year's recreational marijuana amendment, which received a majority of the vote but failed to reach the required 60% threshold to pass.

John Morgan for governor?

Morgan has often teased running for governor without a political party.

“Today, too many adults are sitting in our jails simply because they were using marijuana, and that is just wrong,” Morgan said last May. “If I was your governor, I would free or parole any person in jail for possession, and then expunge everyone’s record.”

When reporters asked him about a possible run, he just said he was 68 and lived in Hawaii half the year. But he didn't say no.

"I might, but if I did it would be the most unusual (campaign), it would only be third party, it wouldn't be like anything you'd ever seen before," he said.