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WATCH • CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

History Is Upon Us

By David Jolly Published: 2024-11-18 Last updated: 2024-11-18
History Is Upon Us video thumbnail

Key moments

0:17

I'm here to tell you today we're going to win this race in November.

0:58

This is a moment where we need new leadership in the state of Florida, because this isn't politics as usual. This is a generational crisis.

2:25

It is with absolute joy that I'm able to announce today that Congresswoman Gwen Graham has agreed to serve as our next lieutenant governor.

Context

A year into the campaign, David Jolly announces his governing partner. This is not a political calculation, it is the formation of a leadership team capable of addressing what the campaign describes as a generational crisis in Florida.

What's said

The candidate names the state's economic crisis, attacks on voting rights and civil liberties, and exhaustion with culture wars. The announcement frames the selection of Gwen Graham as an intentional decision to build a team, not just a ticket.

Transcript

Auto-generated transcript of the video above.

0:00 Y'all, I do want to start by saying thank you to a lot of people.
0:04 We got into this race a year ago just asking people to believe that change was here and the state was capable of electing a Democratic governor, and I'm here to tell you today we're going to win this race in November.
0:17 We're going to win this race in November.
0:20 I want to say thank you to Arby Holmes, who's both an advisor to me on all things faith-related, something that our family celebrates, but also on community building.
0:30 I want to say thank you to Sean Pittman, who's agreed to lead our transition team.
0:35 I want to say thank you to State Senator Tina Polsky, who has also agreed to lead our public policy and government affairs team.
0:42 To Mitchell Berger, who was our chair now a year ago signing up.
0:45 But most importantly, I want to say thank you to my wife, Laura, and our kids, Teddy and Cece.
0:51 We got a saying in our home, when you have a chance to change the world, you take it. You take it.
0:58 Everyone out here today and across the state are taking a chance right now to defy history and do something that this state hasn't done.
1:08 Because we're at a crossroads. We're at a crossroads in the state of Florida right now.
1:15 There's an economic crisis that is gripping far too many people across this state.
1:20 We're a state that is careening towards outright public corruption, and we're exhausted by culture wars.
1:27 People's voting rights are under attack. Their civil liberties are under attack.
1:33 They're marginalized based on the color of their skin, where they were born, who they love or who they worship, and it's wrong. It's wrong.
1:43 Whether your orientation is rooted in the teachings of a faith or what Jefferson called the very natural rights of man, it is a shameful chapter in Florida that we are known for our culture wars.
1:57 So, yes, we are at a crossroads, and there's an opportunity to do something very differently.
2:03 This is a moment where we need new leadership in the state of Florida, because this isn't politics as usual.
2:09 This is a generational crisis in the state, and if we don't fix it, if we don't fix it, the state's going to slip away from us.
2:19 And so, yes, we are beginning now doing something differently that other campaigns haven't done. We're building a team.
2:27 I had one, one goal in this process, to identify a governing partner capable of leading this state, not just as lieutenant governor, but as governor.
2:40 And so it is with absolute joy, joy, that I'm able to announce today that Congresswoman Gwen Graham has agreed to serve as our next lieutenant governor.

Related questions

Why announce a running mate this early?

The campaign believes Florida needs a governing team, not just a candidate. Announcing early signals an intent to build infrastructure capable of addressing what the campaign describes as a generational crisis.

What does the campaign mean by economic crisis?

Working families across Florida are naming affordability as their biggest concern. The campaign frames this not as a budget issue, but as a question of whether the state works for the people who built it.

How does the campaign define culture wars?

The campaign uses the term to describe policies that marginalize people based on identity rather than solving problems. The video names attacks on voting rights, civil liberties, and communities of faith as examples of priorities that divide rather than govern.

More on this topic

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