Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has taken on former U.S. Rep. David Jolly in the Democratic primary fight to be the party’s nominee for governor next year.
Demings filed papers to raise money for a campaign Oct. 31, and made a formal announcement Nov. 6. Jolly in the meantime has been campaigning since June.
The son of a Gadsden County sharecropper and Alabama taxi driver, Demings said he would focus on the need to make Florida more affordable.
“Our state has become more expensive and less fair for everyone, all while power is being stripped away from local communities that know their residents best,” Demings said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings discusses impacts of the Florida Legislature’s action on the Reedy Creek Improvement District during a news conference Thursday, following the annual Orange County Regional Economic Summit in Orlando.
The Orlando native said his politics was forged as a Florida State University business student in the 1970s when he attended church at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, where legendary civil rights leader C.K. Steele was pastor.
“I met a lot of people on that campus. Muhammed Ali, Angela Davis, Andy Young, H. Rap Brown. The university was wonderful in bringing in speakers of the day … and I went to C.K. Steele’s church. He was one of Dr. King’s field generals and he would bring in people like the Rev. Jesse Jackson,” Demings said.
Jolly welcomed Demings to what he hopes will be a “spirited” discussion about how to create affordable housing and health care, and secure the future of public education, among other things.
Whoever emerges as the winner of the Democratic primary will face long odds against the eventual Republican nominee, who will enjoy a large advantage in voter registration numbers and campaign contributions.
David Jolly a Democratic candidate for governor speaks to the Capital Tiger Bay Club, September 18, 2025
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner of Palm Coast are seeking the GOP nomination. First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins have been mentioned as possible candidates.
Donalds is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
If Demings and Donalds emerge as their party’s nominees, it will mark a unique moment in Florida history – two Black candidates vying to be governor after eight years of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies deemphasizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) speaks following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump during an event at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
While acknowledging that a Black Democratic and Republican nominee for governor has never happened anywhere in the U.S., Jasmine Burney-Clark of the voter education group Equal Ground, also said the two candidates come from different backgrounds and see the people and the constituents they serve differently.
“These two Black men are not monolithic. They come to this race with different experiences. Demings may prioritize working class individuals, while Donalds may prioritize the special interests of the business community,” Burney-Clark said in an interview.
Three questions for Jerry Demings as he runs for governor
(Questions and responses edited for clarity and brevity.)
Q: At a rally, you said you would tackle the rising costs of living, specifically mentioning housing. How does one do that?
Demings: I will do what I’ve been doing here in Orange County. One, stabilize the cost of housing and incentivize developers to build workforce housing at a lower cost. Two, build affordable housing closer to where people are going to work, especially low wage earners. They save money because they no longer have to drive long distances or may not need to own an automobile.
And I will insist that we use the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund for what its intended purpose was instead of reallocating billions of dollars for purposes that has nothing to do with affordable housing.
Q: Another plank in your platform is to strengthen local government authority in light of recent moves by the Legislature to preempt city and county regulations and policies to the state. What do you have in mind?
Demings: I’m going back to the days when we let local governments make decisions. They set their budgets and are required to manage them. I’m not trying to get into local governments’ ability to manage their budgets other than to say that should be their discretionary authority.
Local governments are seeing tremendous (population) growth and the state has preempted local governments from controlling many of their land use issues. Let’s have the state work with local governments to empower them to make decisions for themselves.
Q: Media reports describe you as a political centrist. Do you agree?
Demings: I’m a moderate Democrat. I tend to work across political lines to bring constituents with mutual interests together to make mutual decisions. I’m as big a bipartisan person as anyone. I’m in the center where the majority of people are in terms of their beliefs and their policy positions.
Follow up Q: A moderate who supports Medicaid expansion?
Demings: We have been leaving money on the table from the federal government by not expanding Medicaid eligibility.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 3 questions for Jerry Demings as he runs for Florida governor