David Jolly seeks Florida governor's office as Democrat

David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who became a Democrat, is running for Florida governor in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Jolly won the Democratic primary on Aug. 18, 2026, according to NBC News.

He faces Republican Byron Donalds and seven other candidates, according to BallotReady election data. The field also includes Charles Burkett, Dean Ocean Abrams, Frank Russo, Jeffrey Peter Datto and Moliere Dimanche, all running with no party preference, and Libertarian Scott Jewett.

His running mate is former Democratic congresswoman Gwen Graham, who represented Florida's 2nd Congressional District, according to Wikipedia.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic
Born: Oct. 31, 1972, in Dunedin, Florida; grew up in Dade City, Florida
Residence: Pinellas County, Florida
Family: Jolly says he is a fifth-generation Floridian and the son of Baptist minister Lawson Jolly. He says he and his wife Laura are raising their family in Pinellas County.
Education: Bachelor's degree from Emory University (1994); juris doctor from George Mason University (2001)

Experience and public service

Jolly represented Florida's 13th Congressional District from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican, according to BallotReady. He left the Republican Party in September 2018 and spent several years as an independent, according to Wikipedia. In 2022, he co-founded the Forward Party. He registered as a Democrat in April 2025 and launched his gubernatorial bid in June 2025.

Before entering Congress, Jolly served as staff and general counsel in the office of U.S. Rep. Bill Young from 1995 to 2006, according to Wikipedia. He worked as a lobbyist at Van Scoyoc Associates from 2007 to 2011, according to Wikipedia. He founded Three Bridges Advisors in 2011, according to BallotReady. He later served as executive vice president and principal at Shumaker Advisors Florida in 2018, according to Wikipedia.

Jolly says he worked as a political analyst at NBC and MSNBC. He says his work on Washington corruption and campaign finance reform was featured on CBS' "60 Minutes" while he was in Congress.

On the issues

The following positions are stated by the candidate through his campaign website and other candidate responses.

Housing and insurance: Jolly says the property insurance crisis is the primary reason many Floridians struggle to afford a home. He proposes a state catastrophic fund that would remove natural disaster perils from the private market, which he says would reduce property and car insurance rates. He also supports a no-interest state-backed loan program for condominium associations facing costly repairs.

Education: Jolly says he would propose a 10-year plan to revitalize public education, including increasing teacher pay by 30 percent. He says the state voucher program is built on an economic model likely to collapse. He says private schools accepting vouchers should cap tuition inflation and provide the same specialized services as public schools. He also says qualified Florida students should have preferred application status at state universities.

Environment and energy: Jolly says Florida should accept the science of climate change, protect beaches and state parks, and invest in resiliency. He calls for greater integration of clean energy technologies into public utilities, saying such measures could drive down utility costs.

Healthcare: Jolly says Florida should expand Medicaid, calling it a critical program that supports childbirth care, long-term care for seniors and hospital funding statewide.

Government reform: Jolly says Florida has some of the weakest ethics and campaign finance rules in the country. He calls for sweeping ethics reform and says the state should make constitutional amendments easier for voters to place on the ballot. He also says he would reopen the Hope Florida investigation if elected.