David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat, is running for governor of Florida in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Duval County voters will see this race on their ballots. He won the Democratic primary on Aug. 18, according to NBC News.

Jolly will face Republican Byron Donalds along with six other candidates, including Libertarian Scott Jewett, according to BallotReady. The remaining candidates are Charles Burkett, Dean Ocean Abrams, Frank Russo, Jeffrey Peter Datto and Moliere Dimanche. His running mate is former Democratic congresswoman Gwen Graham, who represented Florida's 2nd Congressional District.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Born: Oct. 31, 1972, in Dunedin, Florida; grew up in Dade City
  • Residence: Pinellas County, according to his campaign website
  • Family: Jolly describes himself as a fifth-generation Floridian and the son of Baptist minister Lawson Jolly
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from Emory University (1994); juris doctor from George Mason University (2001), according to BallotReady

Experience and public service

Jolly represented Florida's 13th Congressional District from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican. Before that, he served as staff and general counsel in the office of U.S. Rep. Bill Young from 1995 to 2006. He worked as a lobbyist at Van Scoyoc Associates from 2007 to 2011 and founded Three Bridges Advisors in 2011, according to BallotReady.

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

He left the Republican Party in September 2018.

He spent several years as an independent and co-founded the Forward Party in 2022. He registered as a Democrat in April 2025 and launched his gubernatorial bid in June 2025.

On the issues

Jolly has outlined positions on several policy areas on his campaign issues page:

Education: Jolly says he has proposed a 10-year plan to revitalize public education, including increasing teacher pay by 30 percent. He says the state voucher program should require private schools to cap tuition inflation and provide the same specialized services public schools offer.

Housing and insurance: Jolly says a state catastrophic fund that removes natural disaster perils from the private market would reduce property and car insurance rates. He also proposes a no-interest state-backed loan program for condominium associations facing repair costs.

Environment: Jolly says Florida should accept the science of climate change, protect beaches and state parks, and invest in resiliency. He says the state should require greater integration of clean energy technologies into public utilities.

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 he would reopen the Hope Florida investigation if elected, according to Sparker's Soapbox. He also calls for campaign finance reform and stronger ethics rules.

Endorsements

Jolly has received endorsements from the following, according to Sparker's Soapbox and BallotReady:

  • Miami Herald Editorial Board
  • Maxwell Frost, U.S. House of Representatives (FL-10)
  • AFL-CIO
  • Florida Education Association
  • United Teachers of Dade
  • The Hillsborough Society
  • Palm Beach Human Rights Council
  • Miami Beach Democratic Club
  • LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus of Palm Beach County
  • Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus
  • Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida