{"id":374886,"date":"2026-08-18T19:08:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/374886\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T19:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:08:47","slug":"outspent-and-outnumbered-at-ybor-city-rally-david-jolly-makes-his-case-for-winning-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/374886\/","title":{"rendered":"Outspent and outnumbered: At Ybor City rally, David Jolly makes his case for winning Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly holds a final primary campaign in Historic Ybor City just one day ahead of the elections. Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

David Jolly likes his chances of becoming the first Democrat to win the governor\u2019s race in Florida in more than three decades this November.<\/p>\n

You read that correctly. The 53-year-old former GOP Congressman and MSNBC pundit\u2019s confidence appears off the charts even though there are 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in the state; he is being outspent by likely GOP gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds by 10:1; and no Democrat has won anything at the state level since 2018.<\/p>\n

According to Jolly, in this election year money doesn\u2019t buy popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need resources to reach the mark. I don\u2019t want to be naive about that,\u201d he said on Monday night after finishing a primary election eve rally in Tampa. \u201cBut this is a cycle where you can get outspent 10:1 and still win. Now I will tell you I think that you\u2019re going to see money come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jolly and Democrats believe that while Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement for Donalds last year meant everything for his success in Tuesday\u2019s primary, it could prove to be an albatross around his neck in the general, as the president\u2019s\u00a0approval ratings are now at an all-time low nationally.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cByron Donalds has spent more than $50 million dollars and his number are getting worse. His numbers are getting worse!\u201d he thundered to a crowd estimated at around 300 people in a cavernous outdoor patio space in Tampa\u2019s Ybor City entertainment district Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this thing in politics,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere are some candidates that the more you see of them, the more you learn about them, the less you like them. Think about Ron DeSantis in Iowa, folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campaign finance records show Donalds has spent a combined total of $55.8 million through his regular campaign and political committee since entering the race in February 2025, blowing away the entire field of candidates who have entered both the Republican and Democratic races for governor this year. Jolly has raised around $10 million overall, and has less than $4 million cash-on-hand right now.<\/p>\n

The assertion that Donalds\u2019 poll ratings are tanking isn\u2019t backed up by the data (as questionable as they might be these days). Donalds has a nearly 32-point lead over his closest opponent in Tuesday\u2019s GOP primary, according to an average of polls by\u00a0RealClearPolitics.<\/a>\u00a0A polling average compiled by the election website\u00a0270 to win<\/a>\u00a0has Donalds up by six points over Jolly in a general election matchup, 45.5%-39.5%.<\/p>\n

In addition to former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, the only elected official who took the stage before Jolly\u2019s entrance was Hillsborough County state Sen. Brian Nathan. Nathan defeated a Republican who vastly outspent him in a district won by the previous Republican by nearly 10 points in 2022, winning support from Republicans and non-party-affiliated voters. Jolly has been explicit that the only way he can win in November is by duplicating Nathan\u2019s winning formula.<\/p>\n

Attacking trans people<\/p>\n

Donalds began airing an ad hitting Jolly on transgender rights last week \u2014 a particularly potent issue for Republicans and specifically Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in 2024.<\/p>\n

Jolly has previously announced for support for transgender youths\u2019 access to medical care and participation in sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what Byron Donalds is doing across the state right now is ugly,\u201d Jolly said of Donalds\u2019 focus. \u201cIt\u2019s downright mean and it\u2019s ugly, dividing people based on who they love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPunching down on marginalized communities has never lowered your insurance bill \u2026 has never improved education \u2026 has never delivered affordable healthcare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jolly has previously addressed Donalds\u2019 criticism of transgender rights by arguing Floridians can\u2019t afford to be distracted by \u201cculture wars\u201d rather than addressing the affordability crisis. He told reporters after his speech Monday night that he remains an \u201cold-school Republican who thinks that government should stay out of your lives, should stay out of your doctor\u2019s offices, stay out of your bedroom. Respect your medical privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say, \u201cI do think that local communities know how to set the rules for their sports leagues. I\u2019m not going to try to change the current law. I\u2019m going to leave that to the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida has attempted to ban access to medically necessary gender care for minors and limit access for adults. Although a federal court temporarily enjoined the ban, a federal appeals court lifted the stay while it considers arguments. The ban\u00a0remains in effect as the court deliberates.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jolly took aim at Donalds in his speech for some of the big-money donors who have contributed to his campaign. That includes dozens of contributions from artificial intelligence groups and donors as well as from companies hoping to build data centers, as reported by\u00a0POLITICO.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cByron Donalds has been bought by every special interest in the state,\u201d he said. \u201cData centers in your neighborhood. Utility companies spiking your rates. For-profit schools. Defunding your local schools. Byron Donalds profits off of all of that. And you know what the difference between me and Byron Donalds is? He will sell you out for a buck as your next governor and I\u2019m going to be there fighting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jolly will host his election night watch party in Miami Lakes Tuesday. He intends, he said, to spend a few days there this week preparing for the general election before making a tour of most of the major media markets across the state.<\/p>\n

All photos by Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

Florida Phoenix<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article appears in August 13 \u2013 19, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly holds a final primary campaign in Historic Ybor City just one day ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1813,13762,34793,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-374886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-david-jolly","tag-florida-democrats","tag-florida-elections","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374886","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=374886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}