- Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow is withdrawing from the Florida Democratic Party Chair election.
- Matlow cited “exigent city matters” and “alarming revelations” as the basis for his withdrawal.
- Following an inquiry made by The Capitolist, Matlow did not explain what the revelations consisted of.
- Three candidates remain in the election: former state Senator Annette Taddeo, Broward Democratic Party Chair Rick Hoye, and political consultant Alex Berrios.
Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow is exiting the race for Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, citing “exigent city matters” and “alarming revelations” in Tallahassee.
Matlow did not expand upon or offer an explanation as to what the pressing matters in Tallahassee consisted of, and inquiries made by The Capitolist remain unanswered.
The announcement comes just days after Politico’s Gary Fineout noted that Matlow was spotted having lunch with former state Senator Annette Taddeo, who announced a bid for the party chair herself last week, and Ryan Ray, a Matlow Aide and Chair of the Leon County Democratic Party.
“I’m thankful to everyone across Florida who expressed their support and I regret I’m not able to help the party in this way at this time,” said Matlow. “Exigent City matters including alarming revelations within the City of Tallahassee since my initial announcement require my undivided focus during the coming weeks.”
Matlow has served on Tallahassee’s city commission since 2018 and won re-election over challenger David Bellamy in the 2022 midterm election.
During his time as a city official, Matlow positioned himself as a progressive, frequently quarreling with long-serving city politicians and large businesses.
Questions arose surrounding Matlow’s eligibility to run for Chair, with some insisting that he would have been required to resign from his position in Tallahassee’s city hall to even run for the election, let alone win.
Adding fuel to the fire, an opinion piece penned by former Florida Democratic Party Vice-Chair Jon Ausman criticized Matlow over the notion that he would attempt to concurrently serve as City Commissioner and the state party leader.
“Matlow, if he wins the chair position, must do it full-time which requires him to leave his post as City Commissioner,” wrote Ausman. “If he does not leave, then he will underperform as state chair.”
With Matlow’s exit, Taddeo is likely to become the frontrunner to win the Feb. 25th election.
Rick Hoye and Alex Berrios are the two other remaining candidates, though Taddeo is appearing to quickly gain traction, as evident by her endorsement by Democrat lawmaker Anna Eskamani on Wednesday.