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A former Republican congressman is now the first Democrat to throw his hat into next year's race for governor.
The G-O-P now holds a registration edge of more than a million voters, but David Jolly insists that it won't be the same political climate as 2022 and 2024.
Under state law, term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis can’t run for reelection in 2026.
Jolly says Florida Republicans haven't addressed affordability and property insurance issues, public school funding or strengthening campaign finance and ethics laws.
“I actually think Republicans in Tallahassee have gone too far in dividing us. I think we should get politicians out of the classrooms, out of the doctor’s offices,” Jolly said.
“I think enough people in Florida, even some Republicans, now understand that. That the culture wars have gone too far,” he said.
Jolly says the private sector has failed and wants disaster insurance handled through a state fund.
He's the second candidate to officially declare for governor, after congressman Byron Donalds on the Republican side. Other potential GOP candidates, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and Casey DeSantis.
The day that Jolly announced his new affiliation, the-then top Democrat in the Florida Senate, Jason Pizzo, declared “the Democratic Party in Florida is dead.”
Pizzo, a former prosecutor, says he’ll launch his own run for governor as a candidate with no party affiliation.
On the Republican side, Jolly will face Trump-backed Rep. Byron Donalds and potentially GOP candidates former Rep. Matt Gaetz and Casey DeSantis.