{"id":2443266,"date":"2025-06-05T10:44:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T14:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/converted-democrat-david-jolly-launched-bid-for-florida-governor\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T10:45:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T14:45:42","slug":"converted-democrat-david-jolly-launched-bid-for-florida-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/converted-democrat-david-jolly-launched-bid-for-florida-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"Converted Democrat David Jolly launched bid for Florida governor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconverted-democrat-david-jolly-launched-bid-for-florida-governor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2443266&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>David Jolly,a former Republican congressman from Florida,has officially launched his campaign as the first Democrat to run for governor of Florida for the 2026 elections.During his time in congress, Jolly was known for his criticism of Donald Trump and represented Florida&#8217;s 13th District from 2014 to 2017 before transitioning to an independent and then registering as a Democrat this year. Jolly aims to create a campaign that prioritizes unity, optimism, and solutions, advocating for issues such as expanding Medicaid, addressing the state&#8217;s affordability crisis, and reforming the education system. He also plans to challenge what he sees as intolerant policies from the current Republican administration under Ron DeSantis. Jolly acknowledges the competitive nature of the race, considering potential opponents including Republicans and former officials, and believes he can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-have-trumps-rumored-picks-for-vice-president-said-about-joining-the-ticket\/\" title=\"What did Trump&#039;s potential VP picks say about joining the ticket?\">attract independent voters<\/a> and disillusioned Republicans to secure victory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Converted Democrat David Jolly launched bid for Florida governor<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2129111\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/david-jolly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">David Jolly<\/a>, best known for spending one term in Congress as a Republican, became the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Democrat<\/a> to announce a bid for Florida governor ahead of the 2026 elections.<\/p>\n<p>An avid critic of President Donald Trump,&nbsp;Jolly represented Florida&rsquo;s 13th Congressional District as a Republican from 2014 to 2017 before becoming an independent and later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3389995\/david-jolly-democrat-florida-governor-bid-ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">registering as a Democrat <\/a>this year. He was long expected to make a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-announces-california-gubernatorial-run-as-newsom-recall-nears-threshold\/\" title=\"Republican Announces California Gubernatorial ... as Newsom Recall Nears Threshold\">gubernatorial bid<\/a> and had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3389995\/david-jolly-democrat-florida-governor-bid-ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">launched a political committee<\/a> in April ahead of the anticipated announcement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3431959\/andrew-cuomo-refuses-address-alleged-lies-congress-sexual-assault-nyc-mayor-debate\/\">Cuomo reamed over refusal to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cuomo-reamed-over-refusal-to-address-alleged-lies-to-congress-and-sex-crimes-at-nyc-mayor-debate-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Cuomo reamed over refusal to address alleged lies to Congress and sex crimes at NYC mayor debate - Washington Examiner\">address alleged lies<\/a> to Congress and sex crimes at NYC mayor debate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3431824\/watch-live-new-york-city-mayor-democratic-primary-debate-cuomo-mamdani\/\">WATCH LIVE: Mayoral hopefuls Cuomo, Mamdani, and others take stage for New York City Democratic primary debate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3431019\/cuomo-united-opposition-nyc-mayoral-debate\/\">Cuomo tasked with fending off united opposition in first NYC mayoral debate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s end the politics of division and return Florida to voters who simply want an economy that works, the best education system in the world, safe communities, and a government that stays out of their doctors&rsquo; offices and family decisions,&rdquo; Jolly said as he announced his campaign Thursday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is a different type of issues-driven, results-focused campaign, and it will be driven not by anger and division but by optimism and solutions,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;We are building a new coalition of Floridians who deeply care about their state and are desperate for real answers to real problems that are putting our quality of life at risk.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jolly&rsquo;s campaign centers around promises to expand Medicaid to low-income Floridians if elected as governor, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >relax strict illegal immigration policies spurred<\/a> by the DeSantis administration, tackle an &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/politics-government\/state-politics\/article307803510.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">affordability crisis<\/a>,&rdquo; increase investments in education, and roll back what he has characterized as the intolerant policies leveled by state Republicans that reacted to &ldquo;wokeness.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The implicit biases behind the DeSantis administration are ugly, they&rsquo;re gross &hellip; The &lsquo;Free State of Florida&rsquo; is a lie,&rdquo; Jolly told the <em>Miami Herald <\/em>this week. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a shot to change this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The former Tampa-area congressman faces a difficult path ahead as he seeks to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in a state that has swung solidly red in recent years, a trend that was apparent when Trump swept Florida in November.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jolly also faces a potentially crowded field ahead of the general election.&nbsp;Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) has already thrown his hat in the ring on the Republican side of the aisle, while multiple other candidates, including Casey DeSantis, are rumored to be running as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As he seeks to gain momentum ahead of the 2026 election, Jolly is crisscrossing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clock-running-on-gathering-signatures-on-three-new-initiatives-to-people-of-washington\/\" title=\"Time is ticking to collect signatures for three new initiatives in Washington state\">state holding town halls<\/a>, telling<em> Politico<\/em> he would forego a formal gubernatorial campaign kickoff event in favor of continuing the listening tour.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re making me a stronger, smarter advocate for change, and we&rsquo;re just going to keep doing that,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/06\/05\/david-jolly-enters-race-florida-governor-00386873\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;This is a campaign that&rsquo;s going to look and feel different on the inside and out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">  In this June 14, 2016 file photo, Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jolly is dropping out of Florida&rsquo;s Senate race and will run for re-election. Jolly made his announcement Friday, June 17, 2016, as speculation brewed that Republican Sen. Marco Rubio will run for re-election after previously saying he would give up his seat. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3071586\/former-house-rep-vance-completely-unqualified-trump-vp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JOLLY CALLS VANCE &lsquo;COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED&rsquo; TO BE TRUMP VP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jolly believes he has a chance to win the election by winning over enough independent voters and disillusioned Republicans to secure a victory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are not enough Democratic votes to win the governorship,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We need a campaign, a candidate, and a party that can win hearts and minds back &hellip; And that&rsquo;s our job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2129111\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2129111\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Jolly, a former Republican congressman, is running for Florida governor as a Democrat in 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2443267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/david-jolly-.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33399,56591,46508,50784,46574],"class_list":["post-2443266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-2024-elections","tag-david-jolly","tag-democrat-to-republican","tag-florida-governor","tag-political-transition"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/david-jolly-.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2443266"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443270,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443266\/revisions\/2443270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2443266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2443266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2443266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}