David Jolly Says Byron Donalds, Not His Own GOP Past, Is the Real Problem

David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida and a former Republican congressman, said that his old party label is not what stands between him and the governor's mansion. Republican nominee Byron Donalds's current one is, he said.

Jolly was asked on Fox News's America's Newsroom how a Democrat could win a state where Republicans hold a large registration edge and a large money advantage. His answer sums up the closing Democratic argument against Donalds: that he stands for President Donald Trump's Republican Party, and Florida voters are tired of it.

"Look, in this environment, and I mean this as an analyst, the problem in this environment isn't that I used to be a Republican. It's that Byron Donalds still is one, because the reality is people are exhausted by this president's Republican Party," Jolly said.

"Maybe the Republican Party I used to belong to would have a better fate right now," he added.

David Jolly's Case Against Byron Donalds

Jolly later left the Republican Party, became an independent and then joined the Democrats. The interviewer brought up that path before asking the question.

Donalds has Trump's backing. Trump said on Truth Social that Donalds "has my Complete and Total Endorsement," Sinclair's national desk reported.

"The lesson of this cycle is you don't have to be a Democrat to vote for a Democrat," Jolly said.

He pointed to two local wins as evidence. In March, Democrat Emily Gregory flipped the Florida House district that includes Mar-a-Lago by about 2.4 points, beating a Trump-endorsed Republican in a seat the GOP had won by 19 points in 2024. Jolly said that "in that race, more Republicans voted than Democrats." In December 2025, Eileen Higgins became the first Democrat elected mayor of Miami in nearly 30 years, defeating Trump-backed Emilio González by about 19 points. "It wasn't even close," Jolly said.

Florida Voter Registration Gap

Jolly also had a warning for his own party. "We're not really registering more Democratic voters. We are seeing an uptick, but we're not closing that gap," he said. "We're winning votes, but I'm not sure we've yet to win hearts and minds."

The state's figures support him. When registration closed on Oct. 5, Florida had about 5.69 million registered Republicans, 4.15 million Democrats and 3.35 million voters with no party affiliation, WLRN reported. That is a Republican edge of about 1.54 million. Republicans have been widening their lead since 2021. Between the primary and general election deadlines, Republicans added 86,694 voters and Democrats added 85,134.

The money gap is also real. As of Sept. 11, Donalds's campaign had raised $13.3 million and his political committee, Friends of Byron Donalds, had raised $107.6 million. Jolly's campaign had raised $8.2 million and the committee backing him, Florida 2026, had raised $6.4 million, according to state filings reported by CBS12.

What the Polls Show in Florida

The polls do not yet show voters as "exhausted" as Jolly says. Donalds leads by 4.5 points, 48.4 percent to 43.9 percent, in PolitiKool's polling average. A Mason-Dixon poll for NBC6 and Telemundo, conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, found Donalds ahead 48 percent to 41 percent, with 10 percent undecided.

The same poll found Florida voters split 48 percent to 48 percent on Trump's job performance. Nationally, his standing is weaker: 37.6 percent approve and 59.4 percent disapprove in PolitiKool's polling average.

Jolly's Pitch to Republican Voters

Jolly said enough voters, "Democrats, independents, and Republicans," want to hear a Democrat say "that the economy should work for everybody," "that the private sector should lead" and "that we should just stay out of people's lives."

He described a conversation with a former Republican senator, whom he did not name. The senator told him he is "never leaving the Republican Party" but will vote "for every Democrat on the ballot." Then the senator added: "Unless you give me a reason not to."

Jolly said he and his wife have a saying, "believe in better," adding: "In a world of Donald Trump, be Ted Lasso." The line refers to the Apple TV comedy about an endlessly upbeat American coach.

"My former party's drifted away from that message. It's continuing to practice division," Jolly said.

Jolly will find out on Nov. 3 whether that message reaches voters who still say they are Republicans.