Former Florida Congressman David Jolly believes 2026 will be a “generational change” election in Florida and is building his campaign for governor around that idea. The former Republican is the only serious Democratic candidate who has declared to run so far. With the primary 14 months away and the general election 17 months away, Jolly is aiming to convince Democrats he can win on a message that appeals to voters in places where Democrats usually don’t compete. As part of that effort, Jolly was in Northwest Florida this week doing media interviews and building the early stages of his campaign. He sat down with the News Journal for a one-on-one interview on June 11.
Who is David Jolly?
Jolly, a Dunedin native and son of a Southern Baptist preacher, has been involved in Florida politics for decades, mostly in the Tampa area. He was the long-time aide of late Republican Congressman Bill Young and succeeded Young in a 2014 special election after Young’s death. While he worked for Young, Jolly earned a law degree from George Mason University. He left Young’s office in 2006 and became a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., before he ran for Young’s seat in 2014 as a Republican. In 2016, Jolly flirted with a run for the U.S. Senate but backed out of the race after Marco Rubio gave up his presidential run. Jolly was defeated in his bid for reelection to Congress by Democrat Charlie Crist. Jolly was an early critic of Donald Trump in the Republican Party and was one of the early “Never Trump” Republicans. Jolly ultimately left the Republican Party in 2018, and he officially registered as a Democrat in April.
Jolly rejects the ‘moderate’ label
Jolly rejects the label of moderate or centrist, but if there is a label, Jolly says he’s a pluralist. “I'm for lower corporate taxes, but more gun violence prevention,” Jolly said. “That makes me to the right on one issue and to the left on another. We could go down the list, and you're going to find me all over the left-right spectrum. I am in a post-ideological space. This is about bold solutions to big problems.” Jolly acknowledges that his policy positions have changed, especially in the last 10 years, with the rise of Donald Trump. While some may compare him to Crist, who failed to beat DeSantis in 2022, Jolly said Crist would never admit he changed. However, Jolly said his policy views have changed, but his values, based on the core of his Christian faith, haven’t changed. “What I discovered in my journey is, even as a Republican, I was trying to figure out how to ensure that the economy worked for all people. That government actually served people – seniors, veterans – and that everyone was lifted up regardless of your walk of life, who you love, who you worship, the color of your skin. Those values have never changed.” Jolly said his views on the legal status of abortion have changed since he was a Republican. He said he believes the standard of the Roe v. Wade case should be codified in law. “I wrongly conflated my personal faith teachings with being anti-Roe, when I got into office,” Jolly said. “But you can kind of see my journey over three or four years. I was the only Republican in Congress who voted against the Planned Parenthood investigation. When Republicans moved to rescind money from Planned Parenthood, I offered a compromise to say, we will defund corporate Planned Parenthood, but we're going to move that money to community health centers to ensure there's no disruption of health care.” Jolly said he supported Amendment 4 last year, which would’ve made abortion a right under the Florida Constitution. “I think Amendment 4 is right, not just for reproductive freedom, but because it also ensures that the ability of the faith communities to evangelize faith teachings remains uninhibited as well,” Jolly said. Beyond Jolly’s change on the issues, he said Republicans are the ones who have changed more over the last 10 years. “The party I belonged to was for fiscal discipline and staying out of your bedrooms, and now we're exploding the debt, and we want politicians in your classrooms, your doctor's offices and your bedrooms,” Jolly said. “That's a big change, right? I'm willing to talk about it. I'm not sure some of my Republican colleagues are.”
Building a new Democratic coalition
Jolly believes that if any change is going to happen in Florida, it has to come from the Democratic Party. Jolly said Republicans haven’t addressed the real needs of Floridians while they’ve been in power, and voters will be ready for a change. “We're in the midst of a generational change environment in what would be the sixth year of a president, in the midst of a state affordability crisis that we haven't seen in 25 years,” Jolly said. “So the conditions right now are different than any cycle we've seen, probably for 20 years.” Jolly officially declared his bid for the 2026 governor’s race on June 5. His announcement came as the Florida Democratic Party has struggled to regain relevancy and Florida has shifted into a solidly Republican-dominated state over the last decade. While Republicans have controlled the Statehouse for nearly 30 years – a Democrat hasn't won a governor's race since 1994 – Florida’s status as a swing state in presidential and other statewide elections left open space for Florida Democrats until Republicans decisively won every statewide office in 2022. Florida Sen. Jason Pizzo, who was the Democratic Party leader in the Florida Senate and seen as a top contender for the Democratic nomination for governor, shocked state political observers in May when he announced he was
leaving the party , declaring it “dead” in Florida. Pizzo declared he was running for governor as a non-party-affiliated candidate. Jolly said his campaign is about attracting voters from all walks of life with a message of making Florida an affordable place to live with economic and educational opportunities for families. “The race is not about the president,” Jolly said. “It's about Florida. But then also, we have to be in communities where Democrats haven't been, and we have to make this race bigger than the Democratic Party. This has to be a race about Florida's voters and whether or not they want change or more of the same. If that is the question, in the midst of a change environment, we win this race.”
Making Florida affordable again
Jolly said he would tackle affordability by focusing on the ballooning cost of housing and, particularly, homeowners’ insurance. He said he wants to pass policies that will lower homeowners' insurance by 50% with a state catastrophic fund that would remove hurricane coverage from the private market. Jolly said he would also focus on making public education competitive with private schools in the era of school choice by raising teacher pay to levels that would put Florida at the top of the teacher pay list instead of near the bottom. “If you truly think we have an affordability crisis, do you trust current leaders in Tallahassee to deliver a solution? Because they've had decades to do that, and they haven't,” Jolly said. Jolly said that growing up in Florida, he felt it was a place people could come and chase their dreams, but today it's become a place for the "rich and the reckless," instead of a place for everyone. "There's a certain mystique and dream quality to Florida that I think is escaping us and getting out of reach," Jolly said. "So, how do we bring that back in 2026 in a way that makes sense. The affordability crisis is No. 1." Jolly said he is looking to bring together a new coalition that reflects the fundamental values of the Democratic Party. “I need to be able to sit in faith communities and say, the reason I'm trying to lead a Democratic coalition is I believe these values best align with the faith community,” Jolly said. “I need to be able to go to gun owners and say, ‘Look, I know gun owners aren't the problem, but if we strengthen our gun laws, we'll save your kids, just like we'll save ours.’ I need to be able to go to (agricultural) communities and say, your labor markets are tight because of DeSantis' immigration crackdown.” Jolly’s message would also push back on the labels Republicans often use as cudgels against Democrats in campaign ads. “We also need to be Democrats that go into South Florida and condemn socialism and communism and defend capitalism,” Jolly said. “And say, we're the party for fair capitalism that will ensure that if you end up unemployed that there's going to be food security and housing and access to health care while you get back on your feet. Those are messages that don't need to change. I think they need to be amplified.”
Outlook for 2026
The 2026 governor’s race is still in its early days. Pizzo is already in the race as an independent candidate. On the Republican side, Congressman Byron Donalds appears to be the early front-runner with President Donald Trump's endorsement. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett is also competing for the GOP nomination. Other n ames are floating out in political circles as potential contenders, such as former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis. Donalds has also been touring the state and meeting voters and officials. Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves endorsed Donalds earlier this month after meeting with him.
Donalds has already taken aim at Jolly in a post on X, calling him an “anti-Trump, radical leftist.” "He's completely out of touch with Florida's voters and our values,” Donalds wrote. “Florida is Trump Country, and I am proudly endorsed by President Trump to be Florida's next Governor." So far, one public poll from the
polling firm Victory Insights reported Donalds was 5.3 points ahead of Jolly in a one-on-one race based on a poll of 600 likely Florida voters. The poll found Donalds with 36.7% support, Jolly with 31.4% support, and 31.9% undecided.
