David Jolly
Democrat candidate for governor of Florida. Every point on this page links to its source. We don't grade candidates or tell you how to vote. As of 2026-10-08.
At a glance
| Party | Democrat |
| Running for | Governor, Florida |
| Born | 1972 |
| Education | primary school; Emory University; Antonin Scalia Law School |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician, employee, lobbyist, member of congress |
Source: Wikidata
Record
| U.S. Representative, Florida's 13th district | 2014–2017 | Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress |
Full official biography, including earlier offices (Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress)
In Congress: 37 bills and resolutions sponsored, 445 cosponsored, 0 became law on their own (a bill folded into a larger law isn't counted). Congress.gov
Where they stand
In their own words, from their campaign website, summarised in plain English.
Economy and cost of living
Jolly says Florida should grow a leading technology economy, renew agriculture with sustainable practices and support for farmers, protect tourism, and keep its top graduates. He also wants a state catastrophic insurance fund, a cap on utility profits and more workforce housing to lower living costs.
Taxes and government spending
No stated position on their website.
Health care
Jolly says Florida should expand Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of uninsured people. He also proposes a five-year pilot to expand community health centers in every county, and says the plan would not raise residents' taxes.
Social Security and Medicare
No stated position on their website.
Immigration and the border
Jolly says Florida should embrace its immigrant community and that immigrants are not a threat to public safety. He criticizes sweeping ICE raids and says Floridians who break the law will be held accountable regardless of where they were born.
Abortion
Jolly describes himself as pro-choice. He says Florida should replace its 6-week ban with a law allowing abortion until fetal viability, around 23 to 24 weeks, with state regulation after that only where needed to protect the mother's life or health.
Energy and climate
Jolly says Florida should expand clean and renewable energy in public utilities, accept the science of climate change, and invest in resiliency and protecting beaches. He also supports a day-one moratorium on building hyperscale data centers.
Guns
Jolly says he supports banning the sale of new assault weapons, requiring universal background checks, exploring licensing for gun ownership, and preserving and expanding Florida's red flag laws. He says these steps would not confiscate guns from law-abiding owners.
Crime and policing
Jolly says people who break the law should be held accountable, and he wants violent crime prosecuted aggressively. He also wants local control of community policing, officers trained to de-escalate, an end to sentencing disparities and the school-to-prison pipeline, and state reforms to mandatory minimums.
Education
Jolly says Florida should sharply increase funding for public schools and teacher pay. He wants voucher schools held to the same standards and the voucher program means-tested, and he wants qualified Florida students to get preferred application status at state universities.
Foreign policy and defense
Jolly says Florida should fill the gap left by federal cuts to veteran services. He proposes expanded mental health care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury, shorter wait times, and stronger partnerships among state agencies, county offices and community groups for housing, job training and transition help.
Elections and ethics in government
Jolly says he wants sweeping ethics and campaign finance reform: limits on corporate contributions, rules showing who funds campaigns, a ban on lobbyist gifts, and an end to the revolving door into lobbying. He also wants easier ballot initiatives, respect for local home rule, and a governor who fights to enact amendments passing with over 50%.
Ratings and endorsements
No ratings: the groups we track score votes in Congress and endorse federal candidates, and we have not collected ratings or endorsements for governor candidates.
Money
Candidates for governor report to the state, not the FEC, and this page doesn't cover state reports. Florida's campaign-finance reports ↗
Praise, criticism and controversies
These sections are not covered for governor candidates yet: every item in them is checked by a person before it is shown, and that review covers Senate candidates for now.
From Semblen
No ads from this campaign's own committee in our index yet. See the race →
Sources
- https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/J000296
- https://davidjolly.com
- https://davidjolly.com/issues
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/affordability
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/criminal-justice
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/economy
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/ending-the-culture-wars
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/equality
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/ethics-reform
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/gun-safety
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/health-care
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/higher-education
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/home-rule
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/reproductive-freedom
- https://davidjolly.com/issues/veterans
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