Orlando attorney John Morgan has officially launched a national contest to name a new political party. The prize? $100,000, if you can impress.
Morgan, the founder of the Morgan & Morgan personal injury law firm, first teased this contest last month after formally announcing he will not be running to succeed Republican Ron DeSantis as Florida governor this year.
Due to term limits, DeSantis is restricted from running for re-election (and his next steps are currently unclear, although he’s reportedly “begging” for a position in the Trump administration).
Several prominent gubernatorial candidates, including Trump-endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds, former Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, have launched bids to succeed him.
“The two-party system — the extremes to the right and the extremes to the left — is freezing us up,” Morgan shared in a statement announcing the contest Tuesday. Morgan, a former Democrat who left the party to register with No Party Affiliation in 2017, has not endorsed any current candidate in the running for governor.
He explained over social media last month that he doesn’t want to run himself because “I do like living in Hawaii, I do like my marijuana, and I do like spending time with my grandchildren.” Serving as Florida governor, he insinuated, would disrupt those activities.
“What we need is a third political party that can compromise with the left and the right to provide real solutions to the people,” Morgan argued, nonetheless. “I’m ready to build it, and I need people’s help to name it.”
It’s a humble request from a billionaire Orlandoan, with a not-so-humble prize. To enter Morgan’s contest, you need to be a U.S. citizen age 18 or older, and the use of artificial intelligence is strictly prohibited. You do not need to be a Florida resident in order to submit an entry. You can submit your entry here.
The submission period — allowing strictly one entry per person — begins Tuesday, May 19, and will end on June 2 at 11:59 p.m. The entry “with the highest judging score” will be selected “on or around” June 16 at 1 p.m., according to a news release.
Announcing the contest last month, Morgan touted successful state ballot initiatives he helped bankroll to legalize medical marijuana in Florida in 2016 and raise the state minimum wage in 2020 to back up his decision to launch a new, third party.
Both initiatives received bipartisan support from voters across party lines in what used to be considered a purple state. The constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana received a 71 percent vote of support, while the measure to raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by Sept. 30, 2026 received about 61 percent of the vote.
“After running two very successful constitutional amendment campaigns, I’ve learned that once we drop the ‘D’ and the ‘R’, most of us agree on most issues,” Morgan argued Tuesday.
This isn’t the first time Morgan has offered a hefty prize for a seemingly simple task that he could have otherwise assigned to someone in marketing. Morgan, for instance, previously offered a $100,000 prize in 2021 to whomever could write the best new jingle for his law firm. Mitchell Hines of Apopka won that prize after incorporating a xylophone into the proposed jingle — a detail that apparently delighted xylophone enthusiast Morgan, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
