Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.
Gubernatorial candidate DAVID JOLLY can now count several influential Florida Democrats among his backers.
In an interview with Playbook, former Rep. GWEN GRAHAM said her friendship with Jolly led to her endorsement, officially out this morning. She said she was thrilled Jolly had become a Democrat and changed some of his positions, and that she was proud of him.
“There is no other elected position in Florida that has as much impact as governor of Florida,” said Graham, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate whose late father, BOB GRAHAM, was governor for two terms and served in the US Senate. She called Jolly a “good person whose heart is in the right place.”
“I know as governor he will make the decisions for Florida that will help not just our state — but Floridians — to lead the best life possible,” she said.
Graham and Jolly overlapped in Congress, where they became close friends. Though Jolly was a Republican at the time, they worked together on several policies including a ban on oil drilling in the Gulf and restoring the Apalachicola Bay. She said for leadership to change in Tallahassee, someone would need to help convert more independents and Republicans, and that she believed Jolly was the right leader to bring people together.
“I don’t know who else will get in the race,” Graham said, “but I do know to win in November will require a Democrat who can build that coalition.”
Graham received online speculation about her own political future in March when she posted on X that she was thinking about where her life was taking her next. The endorsement puts all that to rest. No other major Democratic candidates have announced they’re running, though the primary isn’t until August 2026.
Jolly’s campaign also revealed this morning that it raised just more than $1 million since he switched from no-party affiliation to the Democratic Party and launched a political committee. Jolly made a run for governor official on June 5, and his campaign strategy has included town halls across the state. He also brought on GREG GODDARD and EVAN LAWLOR as fundraisers.
Campaign finance documents show some of Jolly’s biggest donors include Fort Lauderdale investment adviser DONALD SUSSMAN, who donated $100,000; Brandon, Florida, farming executive BRYAN BALDWIN, who contributed $50,000; as well as Aspen-based philanthropist CHUCK WALL and real estate investor RICHARD OLLER, both of whom contributed $25,000.
Jolly’s fundraising falls far short of the $22 million haul Axios reported from GOP Rep. BYRON DONALDS in the first two quarters of this year. Donalds has President DONALD TRUMP’s endorsement, and his campaign has begun to criticize Jolly through text messages and social media posts, with one reading: “My opponent was a Republican. Then an Independent. Now he’s a Trump-Hating Radical Leftist.”
Other Democrats are making their support official this morning, including former Democratic Rep. DONNA SHALALA, the Clinton-era HHS secretary.
Shalala, a former University of Miami president, released a statement saying she was drawn to Jolly’s focus on making housing, health care and other costs of living more affordable. “He has the experience and vision to lead with effective, people-first solutions,” she said. Shalala added that she especially trusted him to support abortion rights, saying he would “stand firm to protect personal freedoms and ensure every Floridian has the power to make decisions about their own body and future.”
A third endorsement came from former Rep. KAREN THURMAN, a former state Democratic Party chair who praised Jolly for how he listens to voters.
“He genuinely is interested in what people have to say,” she told Playbook. “I think that’s a wonderful quality for someone looking to represent a state.” The two have known each other a while and sat down a few days ago to talk about the campaign, she said, adding that Jolly’s “integrity and his word” won her over.
Thurman also had advice for Democratic voters who might be skeptical of Jolly’s party conversion: “Have a conversation with him,” she said. “Learn more about him. Question people that know him — that’s what I would say to people. We don’t do these endorsements lightly.”