David Jolly, a Criticist of Trump, former member of the Congress of the GOP, will present himself to the post of governor as a Democrat

Tallahassee, Florida – A former member of the Republican Congress and Vocal Criticism of Donald Trump says that he wants to become governor in the president’s adopted state of the president, and that he presents himself as a democrat.

David Jolly officially announced his offer on Thursday, becoming the last part converted in the hope of fighting against the control of what had been The country’s first swing state that in recent years have made it difficult move to the right. Under the state law, the republican governor limited to term Ron Desantis cannot present himself to the re -election in 2026.

Even if Florida serves as a place for the Trump administration poaching staff And test policiesJolly says that it is convinced that questions such as affordability, financing of public schools and the strengthening of law funding laws and ethics will resonate with all voters in 2026. He predicts that the elections next year will announce the national change.

“I actually think that the Republicans of Tallahassee went too far to divide us. I think we should get out of the politicians of the classrooms, outside the doctor’s offices,” said Jolly.

“I think enough people in Florida, even some Republicans, understand this now. That cultural wars have gone too far,” he said.

Jolly was elected for the first time at her headquarters in the Congress of the Tampa Bay region during a special election in 2014 and was re -elected for a complete mandate. The lawyer and former lobbyist underwent a political evolution which prompted him to leave the Republican Party in 2018 to become independent and then registered democrat. And there was a national profile as an anti-Trump political commentator on MSNBC.

Jolly said he considered himself “part of the democratic coalition” for about five years, and believes in that he considers the “fundamental values” of the party – that the government can help people, that the economy should be “fair” for everyone, and that immigrants should be celebrated.

“I found it difficult to exercise these values ​​in the Republican Party,” said Jolly, continuing: “real registration as a democrat was not a pivot. It was a kind of formality.”

Jolly broke his former immigration party, as Florida legislators race to help Trump make his Mass deportations promise. The Republicans embarked in Jony who, according to him, “confused immigration and crime”, which he described as evil and immoral.

“If you were born here or if you immigrated here, or if you are a Tallahassee politician who steals from Medicaid money, we are going to be hard for crime,” added Jolly, referring to an investigation into the Use of Medicaid regulation funds by a charity associated with the First Lady Casey Desantis.

The Course of the Governor of Jolly as a Democrat makes comparisons with the failed offer of the former member of the Republican Congress who has become independent who became Democrat Charlie Crist Lost against Desantis in 2022 by 19 points. It was Crist, running as a Democrat, who ousted Jolly from his congress headquarters in 2016.

Jolly has joined Florida’s Democratic Party for what is probably one of his most vulnerable points for years. Florida currently has no democrat elected to an office throughout the state, and there are now 1.2 million additional registered republicans that Democrats, according to the active electoral lists of the State. The GOP has made significant breakthroughs in the former democratic bastions of the state, as County of Miami-Dade.

The day Jolly announced his new affiliation, the best democrat in Florida Senate, Jason Pizzo, revealed that he was leaving the party, declaring that “The Democratic Party in Florida is dead.” Pizzo, a former prosecutor, said that he would launch his own race for the governor as a candidate without party affiliation.

On The republican sideJolly will face the representative supported by Trump. Byron Donaldswhich is also a frequent presence on cable information as a substitute for the president. Among the other floating names as potential GOP candidates are the former representative. Matt Gaetz And Casey Desantis.

___ Kate Payne is a member of the body for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national services program that places journalists from local editorial rooms to report on under-cover issues.