On Thursday, a former Republican turned Democrat in Florida announced his gubernatorial run for 2026. David Jolly, who represented the Tampa Bay area in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017, is looking to take term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis’ position in the heavily red state of Florida.
Asked about his turn to the Democratic Party in an interview with CBS Miami, Jolly explained that he was an independent until only recently. “I bring a different value set. Even when I was in Congress as a Republican, I supported marriage equality, gun control, climate science, campaign finance reform.”
“I struggled to exercise those values in the Republican Party,” Jolly reportedly said. “The actual registration as a Democrat wasn’t a pivot. It was a kind of formality.”
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Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images
Jolly believes that the Democratic Party is the right “vessel” to help him build a coalition in the state of Florida to address his top issue: the “affordability crisis.” According to Fox News, Jolly said in a statement, “We have an affordability crisis in Florida driven by an insurance crisis that continues to worsen in the face of complete neglect by Tallahassee. We have abandoned public education, and we’ve allowed corruption to run rampant. It’s time for a change.”
Jolly’s challenge to the Republican stronghold and President Donald Trump’s home state comes at an uncertain time for the Democratic Party. It has been reported that there are between 1.2 million and 1.3 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in Florida.
As it stands, the Democratic primary is open, with many other potential candidates expressing wariness about the chances of turning the state blue. Trump-endorsed Florida Congressman Byron Donalds currently leads the Republican side. Rumors suggest former Representative Matt Gaetz and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis may also throw their hats in the ring.
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