The new campaign ad showcases Jolly embracing the Democratic Party’s stances on “the issues,” featuring a recent interview in which he denounced the idea that “somehow Democrats have to change their values in 26 or change who they are.” 

“That’s wrong,” Jolly says in the ad. 

“The Democratic Party is absolutely right on the issues,” he continues as the phrase is repeatedly overlaid on clips featuring Democratic leaders expressing support for creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, expanding access to transgender surgeries for prison inmates, and allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports as transgender athletes.

The Donalds campaign told the Washington Examiner that Jolly’s words show that he “has lost his mind along with the rest of the Democrat Party.” 

“Jolly and his Democrat pals put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens, support crushing tax increases on our families, and want men to compete in women’s sports,” Ryan Smith, chief strategist for the campaign, said in a statement. 

“Just this week, Jolly promoted a plan to pass the most sweeping gun control in Florida’s history. Jolly is wrong on the issues and wrong for Florida. Byron Donalds is the proven conservative fighter endorsed by President Trump to be Florida’s next governor,” he continued.

Donalds announced his campaign to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in February, sweeping the coveted endorsement of President Donald Trump in the process. 

Republicans hope Donalds has a smooth path to victory in Florida, where Trump remains a popular force for the GOP after cruising to victory in his campaign for reelection in the Sunshine State last year. 

Jolly, however, believes Democrats are being underestimated in a race that holds the potential to be surprisingly competitive. 

“Why do I believe in 26 Democrats really have a chance?” he said during an interview with Hopium Chronicles last month. 

“I’m not going to try to sell people something that’s not there,” he said. “But here’s why the Florida governorship race is so special in 26. It is an open-seat governorship without an incumbent. It is in the midst of what I think will be a generational, historic change election environment, the chaos, the scene that has been set by Donald Trump, and in Florida by Ron DeSantis, with the culture wars and the division.” 

“The change environment is there,” Jolly, a former Republican congressman who joined the Democratic Party this year weeks ahead of announcing his bid for governor, said.

But it was during the same interview that the Democratic candidate gave the Donalds campaign fodder for attack as he embraced the party that continues to dodge record-low approval ratings and controversial stances on issues such as immigration and transgender policies that helped run it into the ground last year. 

“I officially became a registered Florida Democrat, and I’m excited about it. I got to tell you when, when there are stories about the Democratic brand and people leaving the party, I’m rushing in in defense of the values of today’s Democratic Party,” Jolly said. 

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“Now Florida, Democrats have to do a few things different, right? It is a party that is in some ways a distressed asset, but that just means you pick it up and you get to retell the story, not reshape the party,” he continued. “I get incensed when I see Democratic leaders … would say, ‘Somehow Democrats have to change their values in 26 or change who they are.’ That’s wrong. The Democratic Party is absolutely right on the issues. This isn’t about changing the values of the Democratic Party. It’s about retelling a very special story and meeting voters where they are in 2026, which might be different from where they were in 24, 22, and so forth.” 

Jolly continued, “It is not about abandoning the values of 24 and 22, it’s really just about meeting voters where they are and embracing the issues of the moment.”