John Morgan has a name for his new political party.
The movement started by the Orlando attorney and founder of the national personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan for people “who feel left behind by both major parties” will now be called “The Common Ground Party.” Morgan announced the results of the naming contest on social media on June 24.
Members will be called “Grounders,” Morgan said on X.
“We had over 35,000 people submit names,” Morgan said, “and some were very, very good, and some were very, very crazy.”
“Whether this works or not, I don’t know, but it’s worth a try to undo the gridlock, the hate, and all of the meanness that has fallen into politics on all sides.”
Who gets the $100,000 prize for naming the party? “The Common Ground Party” was the choice of more than 250 of the 35,000+ submissions Morgan received, he said. The money will be evenly divided among the winning entrants who return the release.
“The contest was a great exercise,” said Morgan. “It showed me that many of you, like me, believe our political system is broken. That we agree on more than we disagree on, yet nothing ever gets done. So, this is step one. Going forward, we will try to start registering people for the party.”
Why did John Morgan start a new political party?
Morgan, who has long been a major bipartisan political donor, was instrumental in promoting state constitutional amendments for a $15 minimum wage and legalizing medical marijuana, and said the experience taught him to avoid the two major parties.
“I’ve learned that once we drop the ‘D’ and the ‘R’, most of us agree on most issues,” Morgan said in a May 19 press release. “The two-party system — the extremes to the right and the extremes to the left — is freezing us up. What we need is a third political party that can compromise with the left and the right to provide real solutions to the people.
“I’m ready to build it, and I need people’s help to name it.”
Is John Morgan running for Florida governor?
No.
Rumors of a John Morgan gubernatorial bid to replace outgoing, term-limited Ron DeSantis have swirled ever since he teased the idea in 2024. He finally shut that down in a video post on April 13, saying that his work on the constitutional amendments satisfied his urges for political change.
“Most things that happen in Tallahassee benefit the top 1% or the top 0.01%. Everything I did with the amendments was to benefit you, the people,” he said. “So I won’t be running for governor.”
Morgan has called for a third party for years
A third party has long been on Morgan’s mind. In January 2024, he told Politico that if he ran for governor, he’d do it under a new party. He called for one again six months later, after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in.
Last February, Morgan announced he was forming a new political party “for those of us stuck in the middle.”
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: John Morgan announces name for new political party — and its members
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
