Florida’s ‘Moderate’ Democrat Rolls Out Welcome Mat For Kamala

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is finally getting back on the campaign trail, and Florida could be next on her itinerary.

Democratic Florida gubernatorial nominee David Jolly said this month that he would welcome Harris to campaign with him, even saying she “should have beaten Donald Trump” in the 2024 presidential election. That would put Harris back on the trail in a state where she lost to President Donald Trump by more than 13 percentage points.

Jolly’s invitation raises eyebrows because he has sought to present himself as a candidate who can appeal beyond the Democratic base. But Harris is closely associated with left-wing positions on guns, healthcare, and abortion, many of which Jolly has also embraced to varying degrees.

During an appearance on CBS Miami’s “Facing South Florida,” Jolly said he would welcome Harris and “anyone” from the national Democratic Party to campaign alongside him. He also praised Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, saying her campaign brings “enthusiasm” to Democratic voters.

Jolly is set to face off with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in the Florida gubernatorial election. Donalds has been seen as the favorite, but last month the Cook Political Report downgraded his odds from “Solid R” to “Likely R.” Polls since the August 18 primaries have fluctuated heavily, with Democratic-aligned surveys showing Jolly narrowly ahead and others showing a tie. The most recent, a Stetson University Poll released Wednesday, found Donalds leading 51% to 39%.

The embrace comes as Harris is attempting to rebuild her political profile ahead of the 2026 midterms while considering another presidential campaign in 2028. Harris has had a mixed reception from Democrats on the campaign trail. Democratic candidates in Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas have publicly declined or distanced themselves from her involvement, while Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) have welcomed her.

Florida would be a very different setting from some of those races. While both Michigan and Georgia were quite close in the 2024 election, Florida is a different case. According to the Associated Press, Harris received 43% of the Florida vote in 2024, while Trump received 56.1%.

Jolly, meanwhile, has undergone his own political evolution. He left the GOP in 2018, spent years as an independent, and later joined the Democratic Party. Jolly has described himself as a former Republican who changed his views on several issues. On guns, that change has been particularly pronounced.

In a 2023 MSNBC interview, Jolly said, “You can say I don’t agree with the Second Amendment. Maybe I don’t. I don’t care,” and argued that America needed to “crush the culture of guns.” He has subsequently advocated for licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for firearms, universal background checks, and an assault-weapons ban.

His healthcare and insurance proposals also call for a significant government role. Jolly has proposed a state catastrophic insurance fund that would remove natural-disaster risks from the private insurance market. His campaign says the proposal would reduce property and automobile insurance costs, while critics have characterized the plan as effectively shifting hurricane risk onto the state.

Jolly has also said he supports in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students, a position he defended after Florida repealed its previous policy allowing undocumented students to receive the benefit. That would represent a different approach from the one pursued by Florida Republicans in recent years, who have backed tighter restrictions on undocumented immigrants and greater cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Jolly has said he would not require Florida law enforcement agencies to participate in federal immigration-enforcement agreements.

On abortion, Jolly has said his position changed from the one he held as a Republican and that abortion rights should be protected by law. His campaign says he would seek legislation protecting abortion access.

The similarities extend into healthcare and the role of government in the private economy. Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign centered on “Medicare for All.” In 2019, she co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Medicare for All legislation, which would have established a national health insurance program. During her presidential campaign, Harris also said, “Let’s eliminate all of that” when discussing the role of private insurance in healthcare. Jolly has similarly argued that government needs to step in when private markets cannot provide affordable coverage.

Jolly has also embraced positions on religious and transgender issues that place him on the other side of several policies adopted by Floridians. Jolly previously said, “Jesus is a loving God who would support the trans community and be proud of their bravery and the struggle that they have gone through for recognition and equity.”

The political overlap is clearer on DEI. Jolly has repeatedly defended diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and has argued that Democrats should not retreat from the issue. He has said that Florida should “return to a state university system that believes in diversity and equity and inclusion,” and he has proposed creating an Office of Civil Rights within the governor’s office to investigate disparities involving voting rights, healthcare, and education.

That would mark a significant shift from the direction Florida has taken recently. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited and will leave office in January, signed legislation in 2023 barring public universities from using state or federal funds for DEI programs, and in April 2026 signed legislation aimed at eliminating DEI programs at the local-government level. 

Jolly’s relationship with the Democratic Party’s left flank is also visible in his treatment of Angie Nixon, the Democratic Socialists of America member who won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Jolly has rejected socialism and said he is a capitalist, but he has also campaigned alongside Nixon and called her “a fighter.” He has said they have different approaches while emphasizing areas where they agree—typically socialist issues—including housing, healthcare, and the role government can play when the private sector fails to provide.

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