John Morgan for governor: Will he, won't he?

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The swirl of interest around Orlando attorney John Morgan started earlier this week with an article by Politico Florida outlining the creation of a political committee, “For the Governor Political Committee.”

For Morgan’s part, he hasn’t said “yes” and he hasn’t said “no.”

Morgan released Thursday a statement/platform with seven policy positions covering everything from marijuana legalization to the environment to criminal-justice reform.

Morgan told Channel 9's Michael Lopardi during an interview Thursday that he was going to leave his options open, adding, "There's a few things I would want to do, not a lot, that's why I would never consider staying in for two terms."

Shortly after the interview, WFTV posted the story on its Facebook page and wftv.com. Channel 9's Christopher Heath saw that as of noon Friday, the story reached 195,000 people and has been shared 468 times; the most shared reporter-generated story of the day. But attention does not mean all the reaction has been positive.

Of the 1,328 user comments (as of writing) on the story, about eight out of every 10 have been negative. Readers of the story referenced Morgan’s history including his 1997 DUI and a video clip of Morgan in 2014 ranting about that year’s marijuana amendment and taking a harsh tone with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, an opponent of the medical-marijuana amendment.

Other comments praised Morgan and called him a “good man,” referencing his work passing medical marijuana and his career as an attorney.

If Morgan decides to run, he’ll face an open field.

Gov.Rick Scott is up against term limits and cannot seek reelection.

Related stories: 

• John Morgan considering run for Florida governor
• Medical marijuana approved in Florida
• John Morgan discusses passage of medical marijuana

Cox Media Group