High-profile trial attorney John Morgan seems to have a lot on his plate these days -- collecting signatures for a medical marijuana constitutional amendment, helping former governor Charlie Crist raise money for his campaign -- and now Morgan may be putting his hand in another high-profile race for 2014. On Tuesday, Morgan tweeted that his son, Mike Morgan, was considering a bid for attorney general.
My son @MikeMorganESQ is thinking of running for FL Attorney General. What do you think? read the tweet posted Tuesday from Morgans Twitter account.
Several responded to Morgans tweet with support for his son.
Great idea LOVE all the Morgans ... They do an AMAZING job For The People, read one tweet.
Do it! read another.
Matt Morgan, John Morgan's other son, tweeted the same question to his own followers Tuesday afternoon.
Mike Morgan is a 2008 graduate of the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. The younger Morgan also attended UF for undergrad. He practices law in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death.
If Mike Morgan does decide to make a run for attorney general, its certain John Morgan will pull out all the stops to raise money for his son -- just as he has in his push to get medical marijuana on the ballot for next year. Attorney General Pam Bondi has an impressive head start.
But beyond the medical marijuana initiative, John Morgan has also been a staunch advocate for his employee and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. Morgan is expected to help Crists camp raise money from attorneys all over the country. In fact, he already has done so.
In the first 12 days of his campaign, Crist raised $872,000, with $484,000 of that money coming from attorneys or law firms alone.
But should Mike Morgan decide to throw his hat into the ring, it could spell trouble for Charlie Crists campaign, which is already surrounded by rumors of inner turmoil due to the abrupt departure of campaign manager Bill Hyers last week.
John Morgan is also working with People United For Medical Marijuana to get over 683,000 signatures on a petition to get the initiative on the ballot for next year. Morgan said Monday he may double the $1 million he has already spent on the initiative, but the group still might not collect the required number of signatures in time.
Despite support from his father, Mike Morgan would face an uphill battle against Bondi should he decide to run against her next year. Bondi has significantly more years of legal experience and already has more than $1 million in soft money committees.
In 2010, Bondi defeated Sen. Dan Gelberby a55 percent to 41 percent margin to become attorney general of the state of Florida. This is her first term.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen atAllison@sunshinestatenews.comor follow her on Twitter at@AllisonNielsen.
