![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIA_04JAYCOLLINS.JPG\" "\\"Florida")
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Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins on Sept. 28, 2025, at Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine in Doral.<\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
When Florida gubernatorial candidate Jay Collins addressed a group of people at Miami\u2019s Versailles restaurant in Little Havana Tuesday, he wore a fishing shirt, jeans and sneakers.<\/p>\n
Most politicians have to work to project a blue-collar image \u2014 work boots and rolled-up sleeves. That\u2019s nothing new. But in Collins\u2019 case, he doesn\u2019t have to play the part. He has a blue-collar background. And even though he may not be Florida\u2019s next governor, Republicans should pay attention to his candidacy anyway.<\/p>\n
If Republicans want to remain the party of the working class, they should recruit more candidates who come from it. Collins is one of those candidates. Born to a teenage mother, he was adopted by his grandparents. He worked on the family farm and joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret.<\/p>\n
Those experiences don\u2019t necessarily make him the best choice for governor, but his background is unusual in a party where many candidates traditionally come from professional backgrounds such as law, business or finance.<\/p>\n
In Florida, affordability has been a buzzword surrounding almost every political campaign. Candidates promise to lower costs and ease the burden on working families. Yet, few can speak from personal experience about manual labor or being on welfare. That\u2019s the gap. Many of the people promising to solve affordability have rarely experienced it firsthand.<\/p>\n
Collins \u2014 and others like him \u2014 are the exception, but they shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n
Over the past decade, the Republican Party built a bigger big tent \u2014 mostly for the better. President Donald Trump, despite being born into privilege, reshaped the Grand Old Party and won over working class voters who felt increasingly disenfranchised by the Democratic Party. Trump spoke to their concerns about the economy, inflation and immigration. His message resonated with millions of working Americans and proved a billionaire could turn out the blue collar voter.<\/p>\n
Trump has been the exception, of course, and he isn\u2019t from the working class. The GOP should look at the larger picture: We need more blue-collar candidates.<\/p>\n