Former Congressman David Jolly campaigns with Gwen Graham for Florida governors' seat

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - David Jolly held a heavily attended campaign event with more than 400 people at Nova in St. Pete Thursday night.

His campaign focuses on issues close to Floridians with affordability at the forefront and ending culture wars as a secondary goal. 

Jolly was once a Republican Representative. He is now vying to win the Democratic primary for Florida governor. 

He campaigned with former Democratic Representative Gwen Graham on Thursday night.

When he was in Washington, Jolly worked across party lines. 

"David and I served in Congress together. We were on the bipartisan Florida caucus," Graham said. "There were four members."

Now he wants to bring that energy to Florida.

Jolly's Ideas:

His number one issue is affordability for all Floridians.

"We need a state catastrophic fund to remove hurricane coverage from the private market and reduce insurance by 60 or 70 percent. Return to local control so local communities like St. Petersburg can decide how to invest in affordable rents, workforce housing, whatever that might be," Jolly said.

"I think we can reduce utility rates by bringing in clean and renewable energy. I think we can expand Medicaid in the state of Florida. I think Florida could consider again being in the direct funding of primary care services."

Graham comes from a historic Florida political family. Her late father, Bob Graham, was the 38th Governor of Florida. 

She is confident in Jolly's ability to win this race. 

"I would not be standing here if I didn't know we could win. This election is too important," Graham said. "We've got to have a candidate in November who can win."

Other Democrats:

The event drew Democrats from across the state, including Lumon May, Escambia County Commissioner, from the North.

"He went into communities that didn't look like him," May said. "Didn't have the same resources as him. And he's talked to him and understood their plight."

All the way down to South Florida, where State Sen. Tina Polsky joined from.

"He believes in solutions that reflect our values," Polsky said. "He believes in solutions that bridge partisan divides."

All were excited to see where this campaign leads them.

Choosing a Lieutenant Governor:

The two would not confirm rumors that Graham will be named as his running mate.

"I will do whatever David thinks is best to help him with this election," Graham said. "We both love Florida, we both want to fight for Florida."

"We're gonna name a lieutenant governor candidate very early," Jolly said. "We're not going to wait until the primary and I hope we see Gwen Graham in office again in the state of Florida."

The Other Democrat:

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is going to go up against Jolly for the right to take on the Republican nominee.

We spoke with him last month about the race.

"There is the silent, what I call the majority that's out there that's not speaking up. They see that this is not normal," Demings said. "In terms of the type of governance that we are seeing now. This is not normal. And they are quietly grumbling under their voices. So I want to make sure that, for me, the pathway to victory has to appeal to a broader audience."

The first step toward the governor's mansion is winning the Democratic Primary. That is on August 18th, 2026.

The Republicans:

The Republican gubernatorial race is between Representative Byron Donalds and former State House Speaker Paul Renner.

Donalds has President Trump's endorsement, while Governor DeSantis has not issued an endorsement.

Republicans have held the governor's mansion since the 1990s.

St. PetersburgPolitics