U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the Democratic Party’s most influential Black leaders, joined Democratic nominee for governor David Jolly in Tallahassee Oct. 12, delivering a blunt message to Black voters:
The outcome of Florida’s closely watched governor’s race may depend on whether they show up at the polls.
With polls showing the race effectively tied, Clyburn told a luncheon audience that included Black elected officials, former officeholders, civic leaders and community activists that the Black vote is a cornerstone of a winning coalition for Democrats and is crucial to a November victory.
Clyburn’s message: Turnout not persuasion
Standing beside Jolly, Clyburn pulled out his cell phone and urged the group to call relatives, friends, and neighbors repeatedly until they cast their vote.
“These little devices have been changing governments all over the world,” Clyburn said. “It’s time for us to use them … to get people to the polls.”
The appearance was Clyburn’s first in Florida’s capital since he delivered the keynote address at the Leon County Democratic Party’s 2016 Collins-Steele Dinner. Clyburn is credited with helping engineer former President Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday sweep of southern primaries in 2020.
Black voters emerge as decisive battleground
Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina and Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly arrive for a luncheon at the Edison Restaurant in Tallahassee, Oct. 12, 2026
Jolly’s campaign believes Black voter turnout may ultimately determine whether there’s a Democratic governor in Tallahassee for the first time in 32 years.
A St. Pete Polls survey released Oct. 7 found Jolly and GOP nominee Byron Donalds, the Naples congressman, tied at 45% each, while other surveys show Donalds holding a small advantage. Taken together, recent polls suggest either candidate has a potential path to victory.
That has intensified the battle for Black voters with Election Day three weeks away.
Jolly spent Sunday at Tallahassee’s Bethel Missionary Baptist Church alongside civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and national civil-rights attorney Ben Crump during a celebration honoring the Rev. R.B. Holmes’ 40th anniversary as pastor.
Monday night he will hold a town hall with students at Florida A&M University, the state’s only public historically Black university.
“If the election were tonight, we would win this race,” Jolly repeatedly says at campaign appearances.
He has centered his campaign on housing, health care and education while promising to reverse many policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, including restrictions on classroom instruction and what Democrats describe as culture-war politics.
“The only reason this state is now competitive again is because we are a state that has been broken by division,” Jolly said. “We’re being told too often on the other side of the aisle that the answer is just to keep hating each other.”
Donalds reaching out to Black voters
Donalds meanwhile has expanded outreach to Black voters in recent weeks, appearing at HBCUs, meeting with Caribbean-American leaders and rolling out endorsements from two dozen Black elected officials, pastors and business leaders.
Most polling, however, shows Jolly maintaining a substantial advantage among Black voters despite Donalds’ bid to become Florida’s first Black governor.
James Call, a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau, covers state government. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: In Tallahassee, Clyburn says Black vote could be Jolly’s way to win