Former Rep. David Jolly has officially filed to run for governor of Florida in a race that still favors Republicans but remains wide open in the Democratic primary.
Jolly, a former GOP, one-term representative from Pinellas County near Tampa, enters the race at a time when Florida has shifted decidedly right after years of topping the list of swing states.
Jolly will additionally have to fend off perceptions that he’s similar to Democrat Charlie Crist, another ex-Republican and independent who Gov.
So far, no Democrat aside from Jolly is clamoring to replace term-limited DeSantis.
He first expressed public interest in running in March, about a month after President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Rep. Byron Donalds for governor.
Former Rep. Though the Democratic primary is still open, David Jolly has formally entered the race for governor of Florida, which still leans Republican.
The chances of a Democrat winning are slim. After years of being at the top of the list of swing states, Jolly, a former GOP representative from Pinellas County, which is close to Tampa, is entering the race at a time when Florida has changed significantly.
What makes Jolly’s campaign particularly challenging is that, even at this early stage, the governor’s race is anticipated to be a three-way contest with both independent and Republican contenders. Jolly will also need to combat the idea that he is like Charlie Crist, a Democrat and former Republican who served as governor. In 2022, Ron DeSantis was smashed.
On the other hand, he might have an easy route to the nomination. Other than Jolly, no Democrat has yet to come forward to unseat term-limited DeSantis. Since Trump won Florida by 13 points in 2024, other Democrats who publicly indicated interest in running for governor have since withdrawn, highlighting how bleak the political environment is for Democrats.
Former state senator for Democrats. Additionally, Jason Pizzo has declared his intention to run for governor. However, in a dramatic departure at the Capitol in Tallahassee a month ago, he pronounced the party “dead,” ending his tenure as chamber leader. He now intends to run as an independent, which many Democrats believe will only help Republicans win the election.
Jolly, however, is more hopeful about Democrats’ prospects, particularly if the 2026 election cycle is set up to be what he refers to as a “change election.”. About five weeks after he announced he was changing his no-party affiliation to Democrat and forming a state political committee, he made his announcement on Thursday. He initially announced his intention to run in March, roughly a month after Republican Rep. Donalds, Byron, for governor.
In an interview with POLITICO, Jolly stated that he would be continuing the listening tour instead of holding a formal campaign kickoff event, and he has since completed over a dozen town halls throughout the state.
“They are strengthening and enlightening me as a change agent, and we will continue to do so,” he stated. “This campaign will have a new internal and external appearance and feel. “.”.
He claimed that the affordability crisis in Florida was the reason he ran for office and accused Republicans in Tallahassee of being to blame for the high number of people who expressed concern at his town halls about their ability to pay for their Florida homes. He stated that Democrats have a chance to demonstrate their commitment to a people-centered economy, and he predicted that Donald Trump or any other Republican would “have a hard time defending the affordability crisis.”. “.”.
“It was created by Republicans,” he claimed. They’re not taking any action, and we will. And it’s that message that strikes a chord in every state and conversation. “”.
If Jolly is elected governor, she intends to “dramatically reinvest” in public education and work to extend Medicaid, a government health coverage program, to low-income Floridians. Additionally, he stated that he would work to overturn DeSantis-signed legislation that secrecy the governor’s travel and visitor log.
He does concur with DeSantis that property tax laws need to be changed, but he rejected the governor’s proposal to completely repeal taxes, which would only affect people’s primary residences, arguing that the math still needs to be done to fund safety and educational services. He’d want to study it and bring in experts, he said.
Jolly would not disclose the amount of money he has raised so far, but state law will soon require his committee to report donations on a regular basis. Given that he has made numerous appearances on cable television, including regularly contributing to MSNBC in the past, it is possible that he will be able to access a nationwide network of donors.
Unlike federal campaign committees, political committees in Florida allow candidates to participate directly in their operations and decision-making.
According to Jolly, he believes that statewide candidates like himself should “bear responsibility for raising resources and deploying them towards voter registration.” He already has plans for the money that does come in. Democrats contend that designating voters as inactive if they have not cast a ballot in the previous two election cycles has disproportionately impacted the party’s current 1 point 3 million active voter deficit when compared to Republicans.
In the first month of his campaign, Donalds has raised $12 million, making him the only significant candidate to file to run on the Republican side. However, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis is also thinking about running. Donalds also assembled a group of officials, such as pollster Tony Fabrizio and senior adviser Danielle Alvarez, who were instrumental in Trump’s successful retake of the White House.
The former congressman was described as “completely out of touch with Florida’s voters and our values” by the Donalds campaign in a statement after Jolly entered the race. “Politician, lobbyist, and MSNBC commentator David Jolly has failed.”. “He will soon be able to add a failed gubernatorial candidate to his resume,” the campaign stated. Jolly has formally finished his transition to become the next Charlie Crist by going from Republican to Independent to Democrat. “”.
Jolly intends to visit towns where “Democrats haven’t gone before” in the upcoming months. She will speak to faith communities about how Florida’s stern immigration laws are affecting them and to agriculture communities about how Republican politicians have twisted policy issues around religious matters. She also believes that Democratic values better represent religious teachings. “”.
Jolly’s argument that he will succeed differently than Crist, the same politician who defeated him in his 2016 House campaign, is one of the most significant challenges he will encounter. Although he doesn’t try to claim, like Crist, that the party changed, Jolly acknowledges that he has changed his mind and believes many other voters have done the same on topics like abortion, climate change, and firearms.
He stated that because “there are not enough Democratic votes to win the governorship,” he would seek to assemble a broad coalition of supporters that would appeal to independents and some Republicans. “.”.
He declared, “We need a campaign, a candidate, and a party that can win hearts and minds back.”. Our job is to do that. “”.
