Many political insiders believe Graham, daughter of popular former Gov. Bob Graham, is a frontrunner to join the Jolly ticket. State Sen. Tina Polsky, Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers, Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May and Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado also spoke at the event, which primarily focused on the state\u2019s ongoing affordability crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo decision has been made on the lieutenant governor spot, but I know we\u2019re going to go very early,\u201d Jolly told the Catalyst. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to wait for August. I anticipate a decision sometime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether or not it\u2019s Gwen (Graham), I know she has an incredible place in Florida politics still to come, and I\u2019m excited about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jolly, a Pinellas County native, tapped Flowers to serve as the event\u2019s master of ceremonies. Flowers credited the former Republican\u2019s willingness to work across the aisle and for choosing to become a Democrat when personal and party values no longer aligned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Graham, who served in Congress with Jolly, was a top candidate for governor in 2018 and held an executive position with the U.S. Department of Education until January, noted the two comprised half of the Florida Bipartisan Caucus during their time on Capitol Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sponsored legislation together that would have solved real problems facing Americans and Floridians,\u201d Graham said. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be great if we could get back to that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham worked across the aisle with former U.S. Rep David Jolly during their time together in Congress.<\/p>\n
Graham said Jolly\u2019s focus on bringing Floridians together reminds her of her late father. Graham also noted that the event marked the first time she had publicly discussed Florida\u2019s future since he died in April 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jolly began and ended a roughly 50-minute speech by expressing confidence in becoming Florida\u2019s first Democratic governor since 1998, when former Gov. Lawton Chiles died in office, by building a statewide coalition of disenchanted voters across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy next summer, people are going to look at this campaign and not see a candidate \u2013 they\u2019re going to see themselves,\u201d Jolly pledged. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event marked Jolly\u2019s 130th campaign stop<\/a> since he announced his candidacy in June. While it is \u201calways wonderful to be home,\u201d Jolly said he is \u201crunning to be the governor of the entire state, not just Pinellas County.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jolly, a proud Christian, said \u201cpersonal and private faith\u201d should stop at the steps to the governor\u2019s mansion. He then highlighted shared values that influenced his decision to run.\u00a0<\/p>\n The affordability crisis is affecting all residents, Jolly said, and the \u201ceconomy is not working for everybody.\u201d He also believes the state is exhausted by ongoing culture wars.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jolly said the government can improve lives when the private sector fails to serve all residents. He believes everyone deserves access to affordable healthcare, a quality public education, a clean environment and safe communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re losing the middle class,\u201d Jolly said. \u201cThis is a generational moment. If we cannot correct it, it\u2019s going to get away from us, and this entire state is going to be in a lot of trouble.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He wants to remove hurricane and wind insurance from the private market and establish a sovereign wealth fund, which could reduce costs by over 60%. \u201cI just call it cheaper insurance,\u201d Jolly said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also advocated for property tax relief and first-time homebuyer assistance. Jolly broached the idea of an \u201cacross-the-board\u201d homestead exemption of $150,000 to $200,000, provided the initiative is \u201cfiscally responsible\u201d and does not defund local government services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Increasing investments in renewable energy and accepting climate science would \u201cdrive down costs for every rate payer,\u201d Jolly said. He also admonished Republican leadership for \u201cattacking local control.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the City of St. Petersburg has a bright idea to create affordable rents through workforce housing or rent control, God bless you, go do that,\u201d Jolly added. \u201cThe role of the governor is to stay out of the way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hundreds of people attended Wednesday night\u2019s event at NOVA 535.<\/p>\n He pledged to expand Medicaid and ensure rural, low-income areas have access to primary care services. Jolly said the state should bolster funding for multimodal<\/a> public transportation and accept federal money for high-speed rail<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While he is unsure if universal childcare benefits will work in Florida, Jolly wants to explore expanding the state\u2019s lauded pre-K program. The School Choice program<\/a> also came under fire, and he wants to allocate a percentage of tourism tax dollars to uplifting teachers and schools for 10 years.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jolly-Event_Crowd_MP-1024x628.jpg\")
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