David Jolly wants to change the world. But he can’t do it without the help of millions of Florida voters — a lot of them in Broward County.

Many have not yet voted, while others have received mail ballots but haven’t returned them.

Jolly is in the final days of a 16-city “Believe in Better Tour” across the state, delivering his closing argument in deeply emotional terms of why he should be Florida’s first Democratic governor in 32 years. Polls show he’s in a tight race with Republican Byron Donalds.

Worrisome turnout numbers

The turnout of active Broward voters reached 34% on Friday, close to the statewide figure. But it was behind neighboring Palm Beach, at 36%.

That might not seem like much, but 2% of the Broward electorate is about 22,000 voters, equal to the entire city of Dania Beach — enough to make a big difference in a very close race.

A spike in turnout is expected this weekend in the final two days of early voting, including “Souls to the Polls” on Sunday.

A sluggish turnout in a midterm election in Broward is not new. The county’s transient character can be reflected in a disinterested electorate, the local Democratic Party suffers from a lack of strong leadership, and membership in Democratic clubs has fallen substantially. Yet Broward remains a hotbed of political activity.

Jolly has been a regular visitor to Broward — to a Lauderhill soul food restaurant, Smitty’s Wings in Fort Lauderdale, the Wynmoor retirement community in Coconut Creek and most recently at a Hollywood church for an interfaith service with former President Bill Clinton.

Broward voters have responded favorably to Jolly’s themes of boosting teacher pay, expanding Medicaid, limiting access to assault weapons, protecting the dignity of all, restoring abortion rights, temporarily stopping data centers and returning civility to state government.

He also would fire Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on his first day in office — a promise that always produces loud cheers at rallies.

A surprise detour

As the campaign draws to a close, Jolly has added one last stop on his statewide tour. It’s in Polk County, east of Tampa, on Monday.

Polk is reliably red, but Democrats are surprisingly running almost evenly with Republicans there in combined early and mail voting. Data centers are a big issue in Polk, and Jolly has the higher ground on the issue with his support for a statewide moratorium.

“Republicans are underperforming in Polk County,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X in a message meant to motivate the GOP base.

Republicans are underperforming in Polk County. We have a voter registration advantage of 60,000 in the county and it went R+30 four years ago. pic.twitter.com/UyDTiynzuz

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 30, 2026

Jolly, a former political strategist, summed up his challenge succinctly.

“Where we have lost in the past, we’ve got to lose by less,” he said, “and where we’ve won, we’ve got to win by more.”

Which brings us back to Broward.

Democratic candidates always do well in Broward, but some have done much better than others. In a close race, it’s essential for Jolly to roll up a big advantage in Broward, as a cushion against inevitable losses in red areas elsewhere, such as southwest Florida.

Broward’s recent history

In the race for governor eight years ago, progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum won Broward by an astounding margin of 260,140 votes. He lost to DeSantis by 32,463 votes, four-tenths of a percentage point — a margin so small that it required a recount. In 2014, Charlie Crist won Broward by 180,556 votes while losing to Rick Scott by one percentage point.

In 1994, the last time the Democrats won a race for governor, Lawton Chiles built up a lead in Broward of 123,035. That was crucial in holding off a hard-charging Jeb Bush by 1.5 points.

Bush won four years later, and still lost Broward to Democrat Buddy MacKay, but by a much smaller margin of 87,516 votes.

Nearly half of Broward’s 1.3 million voters are registered Democrats, and fewer than one-fourth are Republicans. In a close race, a weak Broward turnout could be disastrous for Florida Democrats, who have won only three statewide races in the past 16 years.

So the final stop on Jolly’s “Believe in Better Tour” will be in Wilton Manors at 7 p.m. on Monday. The campaign declined to disclose the location. Supporters can obtain it if they RSVP online, at davidjolly.com/tour.

David Jolly’s dream to change the world will conclude in Broward — one way or the other.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.