{"id":301134,"date":"2026-06-09T10:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301134\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:30:23","slug":"david-jolly-taps-sean-pittman-as-transition-chair-assuming-he-wins-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301134\/","title":{"rendered":"David Jolly taps Sean Pittman as Transition Chair, assuming he wins in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sean Pittman will serve as Transition Chair for David Jolly, if the leading Democrat is elected Florida Governor in November, the Jolly campaign announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Pittman, a senior partner<\/a> of the Pittman Law Group in Tallahassee, served as a top-level campaign adviser to Andrew Gillum\u2019s 2018 gubernatorial election and was an integral part of the team that helped propel Gillum to a near-miss victory that saw the progressive Democrat just 34,000 votes from victory. That 0.4% margin places Gillum\u2019s race among the closest in modern American history.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, Pittman has spent decades advising local governments, universities, hospitals, businesses and nonprofits, shaping public policy and serving as a key mentor to future leaders. The Democratic strategist has built relationships all over Florida.<\/p>\n

As Transition Chair, Pittman will oversee transition planning, including personnel recruitment, policy coordination and strategy development.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorida is facing serious challenges that require serious preparation,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cThis is about making sure there is a team of the best and the brightest ready to move immediately on the issues that matter most: housing, healthcare, education, and making life less expensive for working families. The transition process is where ideas become action, and we intend to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While various controversies have marred the Gillum name since his loss in 2018, his race is remembered as a come-from-behind surge that saw Gillum ride a progressive wave to defeat Gwen Graham in the Democratic Primary.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, news broke Monday that the Jolly campaign had tapped Graham<\/a> to be Jolly\u2019s running mate, though the campaign did not confirm the news. While the news was celebrated by many, some Democrats who still have not warmed to Jolly as the potential nominee for Governor worried her selection was adding yet another moderate to a campaign already seen as centrist.<\/p>\n

Pittman\u2019s ability to rally voters who often sit on the sidelines, as he did in the 2018 Governor\u2019s race, could give Jolly\u2019s campaign the push it needs to continue growing its coalition, especially after Jolly\u2019s top opposition in the Democratic Primary, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, announced last week he was suspending his campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some younger, more progressive Democrats across the nation have been lamenting the party\u2019s tendency in the Trump era to run more on opposing Republican policies than on exciting voters with their own ideas and policy proposals. Pittman\u2019s selection suggests that the Jolly campaign is continuing its efforts to build a coalition that transcends strict party ideology.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the many things that stands out about David Jolly\u2019s campaign is the effort to bring together people with different experiences and perspectives,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cThat coalition-building doesn\u2019t stop on Election Day. Building a successful administration means bringing together the best people from across Florida who are committed to solving problems and delivering results.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pittman\u2019s selection may seem premature. While Jolly is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for Governor, qualifying for the race doesn\u2019t end until Friday, and it won\u2019t be clear until then whether he\u2019ll become the nominee at that time, or have to wait until after the Aug. 18 Primary.<\/p>\n

But while Pittman\u2019s work will be centered on preparing for a future Jolly administration, that work will also aid Jolly\u2019s campaign in the meantime, including developing strategies to tackle affordability issues such as rising housing costs, skyrocketing insurance premiums, rising healthcare costs and other economic pressures facing Florida\u2019s working families.<\/p>\n

\u201cFloridians are dealing with rising costs, an insurance crisis, and struggles in housing and healthcare,\u201d Jolly said. \u201cWe\u2019re building a team that is ready to act immediately to address those challenges. Sean\u2019s leadership helps ensure we\u2019re not just talking about solutions \u2014 we\u2019re preparing to implement them.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Jolly agreed that Pittman helps round out the campaign\u2019s work and prepare Jolly for service if elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cSean Pittman understands how Florida works and how to bring people together to solve problems,\u201d Jolly added. \u201cFor decades, he has earned the trust and respect of leaders across our state because of his integrity, judgment, and commitment to public service. What we\u2019re building is bigger than a campaign. It\u2019s a movement to restore responsible government, expand opportunity, and make Florida affordable again. Sean\u2019s leadership will help ensure we are ready to deliver on that mission from the moment we take office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already, several prominent Democrats have celebrated Pittman\u2019s selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cSean is perfectly placed at the crossroads where public policy, law, and government affairs come together. His deep knowledge of our state will help us bring back the effective, responsible government we all need in Tallahassee,\u201d said Sen. Tracie Davis, the incoming Senate Democratic Leader. \u201cThis is yet another reason I\u2019m supporting David Jolly: he will build an amazing team to get to work Day One.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Shevrin Jones, a veteran South Florida leader now running<\/a> for Florida\u2019s 24th Congressional District, celebrated the vast relationships Pittman has built over his decades of political work, noting that his Rolodex has been built by \u201ca long history of reaching out, building connections, and making things happen to improve people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSelecting Sean as Transition Chair shows how serious David Jolly is about taking action right away to address Florida\u2019s affordability crisis for everyone in every community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And Allison Tant, a former Florida Democratic Party Chair, praised Pittman\u2019s work advocating for communities, local governments and other organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gain such valuable insight into the issues that are affecting our state. There\u2019s no one better than Sean Pittman to take that knowledge and use it to bring on the change Florida desperately needs right now,\u201d Tant said.<\/p>\n

In addition to his political work, Pittman serves as Senior Partner and CEO of Pittman Law Group, which specializes in government, administrative, education and corporate law. His clients include cities and counties, aviation and port authorities, universities and a variety of private interests, such as corporations and professional associations. He has experience representing clients before the Florida Cabinet and Legislature, which gives him valuable insight into the inner workings of state government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sean Pittman will serve as Transition Chair for David Jolly, if the leading Democrat is elected Florida Governor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28164,59493,1813,28,22654,30,29,8134,126453,126454,2830,5906],"class_list":["post-301134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-allison-tant","tag-andrew-gillum","tag-david-jolly","tag-florida","tag-florida-governors-race","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-jerry-demings","tag-sean-pittman","tag-shev-jones","tag-shevrin-jones","tag-tracie-davis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}