Florida Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate David Jolly was campaigning in Tallahassee Monday. He attended a town hall hosted by Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Pastor R.B. Holmes.
Holmes, who has endorsed Jolly, thanked him for speaking out against a recent social media post from President Donald Trump. It depicts former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
“If a person in the highest position in the country, if that person should call the first black president an ape and the first lady an ape, I want a governor who will denounce that, making it clear that's not the American way and not to be silent,” he said.
Jolly is a former Republican Congressman from Tampa Bay. He registered as an independent in 2018 and then joined the Democratic party in 2025. He told the crowd Trump’s actions helped spur his decision to change parties.
“For the Democrats who say, I don't know, Jolly is a former Republican. I'll tell you, imagine if Hillary Clinton hadn't changed her party, because she was the college Republican president at Wellesley and then presented with the civil rights era in Vietnam, she began to change her political affiliation and realized she found a home in the Democratic Party,” he said.
Jolly says if elected he wants to reverse efforts made by state Republicans to ban Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies. He also hopes to focus on affordability issues in the state.
“We don't have to condemn success and fight the haves to fight for the have nots. The truth is, for half the state right now, they don't have enough savings to last two weeks. They can't handle a car repair or a health care issue. They can't handle a job loss or a disruption of their personal finances. The economy is not working for everybody,” he said.
Jerry Demings, the current Orange County mayor, is another prominent Democratic gubernatorial candidate. But whoever wins the primary for the Democrats will face an uphill battle. Republicans outpace them in registration by over a million voters, and current governor Ron DeSantis beat the Democratic candidate by over 20 points in 2022.