Former Rep. David Jolly, who left the Republican Party during Donald Trump’s first term, announced Thursday that he is running for governor of Florida – as a Democrat.
“Something is happening in the state of Florida,” Jolly says in his launch video. “People want change.”
The former congressman, who registered with his new party earlier this year, is the first major Democrat to enter the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. He will start off as a decided underdog, though, in what was once one of the nation’s premier swing states but has become reliably red in recent election cycles.
In his launch video, Jolly says the Sunshine State is facing affordability and education crises that he hopes to take on if elected next year.
“We can be a state that says we will fight the affordability crisis in the state of Florida, that invests in and celebrates public education, that actually tries to reduce gun violence,” he says. “This coalition is ready for that change.”
Jolly was first elected to the House in a 2014 special election to succeed his former boss, the late Republican Rep. C.W. Bill Young. He won a full term to his Tampa-area seat that November but lost reelection two years later to former Gov. Charlie Crist, himself a former Republican who by then had become a Democrat. In between, Jolly briefly ran for Senate in 2016 but dropped out shortly before Republican incumbent Marco Rubio decided to seek a second term after his presidential hopes were dashed that year.
Since leaving the House, Jolly has become a noted Trump critic and has appeared as a commentator on MSNBC.
With his announcement, Jolly becomes the second high-profile former Republican in as many cycles to run for Florida governor as a Democrat. Crist gave up his House seat in 2022 to challenge DeSantis, but lost by nearly 20 points as Republicans dominated throughout the state.
That dominance continued in 2024, with Trump carrying the state by double digits, four years after besting Joe Biden by just 3 points. Democrats, meanwhile, hold no statewide elected offices in Florida and haven’t won a governor’s race since 1994.
The Republican front-runner to succeed DeSantis, Rep. Byron Donalds, responded to Jolly’s announcement by accusing his Democratic rival of being “completely out of touch with Florida’s voters and our values.”
“Florida is Trump Country, and I am proudly endorsed by President Trump to be Florida’s next Governor,” Donalds said on social media.
Other Republicans who are said to be weighing bids for governor include Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and state Sen. Jay Collins.
Florida state Sen. Jason Pizzo, the former top Democrat in the chamber, is running as an independent after leaving the party earlier this year.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the Florida gubernatorial race as Solid Republican.
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