David Jolly, age 52, is a former U.S. Representative for Florida's 13th Congressional District (2014-2017) who left the Republican Party in 2018 and officially registered as a Democrat in April 2025 ahead of his gubernatorial bid announced in June 2025. An attorney and political analyst for MSNBC, Jolly is a vocal critic of Donald Trump and has positioned himself as a moderate Democrat emphasizing affordability, campaign finance reform, and pragmatic governance over partisan division. He has raised over $5 million as of April 2026 and leads in Democratic primary polling against Jerry Demings.
David Jolly, born October 31, 1972, in Dunedin, Florida, is the son of a Baptist pastor. He is a Yale University and George Mason Law School graduate. He was elected to Congress in a special election in 2014 in a heavily Democratic-leaning district, serving one full term (2014-2017). After leaving Congress, he became a political analyst and commentator for MSNBC and CNN, earning recognition for his principled criticism of Trump and Republican extremism. He has acknowledged his own ideological evolution, stating he was wrong about several positions he held as a Republican and evolved his views as a political analyst.