Former Congressman David Jolly Brings Nascent Campaign to Naples

David Jolly sure sounds like he’s running for governor. The former U.S. congressman spoke to approximately 600 people Saturday morning at a rally on the steps of the Collier County courthouse. 

Jolly has not made an official announcement of his intentions regarding the 2026 gubernatorial race, but he was saying all the things you would expect to hear from a candidate, and made no effort to pretend that running for Florida governor was not on his radar screen. In fact, he told the crowd to expect a decision and a formal announcement around Memorial Day, just over two weeks away. 

“We have opened a political committee. I am strongly considering running for governor. I anticipate we will get in, but no final decision has been made,” he told a reporter before addressing the crowd.

The event was coordinated by the local chapter of Indivisible, the progressive group that brought thousands out to protests at the same venue in the past couple of months. Many of the attendees were the same people who had attended those earlier rallies and were there primarily to protest policies of the Trump administration, including backing away from supporting Ukraine in its struggle with Russia, wholesale cuts to government agencies including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Trump’s disregard of judicial restraints on his power, and leveraging his position as President for personal profit. 

They carried signs and placards, mostly homemade and original, expressing their beliefs and their outrage. 

 “Pro-America, Anti-Trump.” “Without due process, it’s just kidnapping.” “It isn’t right vs. left – it’s right vs. wrong,” and “This is not the America I fought for,” carried by a man in a walker and a US Marines cap. 

Many other signs, though, promoted Jolly’s candidacy, and Jolly himself, while making no bones about his deep disagreements with Donald Trump on many issues, made a point of keeping his remarks primarily focused on Florida and state-specific concerns. At one point, a chant broke out in the crowd, “Run Dave Run,” and the group was clearly in his corner. 

“Running for governor is not about Donald Trump,” he said. “Running for governor is about attacking the affordability crisis in the state of Florida, renewing investments in public education, dramatically reforming our school voucher system, bringing in more renewable and clean energy to drive down costs, providing more affordable access to healthcare.” 

“The most important message for all of us is to keep at it, and keep the momentum going, because we have an opportunity to change Florida in 2026, and I think Democrats have an opportunity to take back the House of Representatives.” 

“Is this a great day to be a Democrat?” he asked the crowd. “One of the things I like about being a Democrat is I can say climate change is real.”

Jolly disputed the viewpoint that the Democratic party in Florida is “dead,” and lauded the attendees for showing up at Saturday’s and other rallies, along with others across the country. “It is working. It is working. It is working,” he said. “We’re changing hearts and minds. 

“When Congressional elections show the Democratic Party overperforming by 15 or 16 points because folks like you are raising your voice and saying, ‘we’re not going back, and we want to stop it,’ it’s working.”  

“I think the President’s taking us in the wrong direction. I have articulated that disagreement for about 10 years and ultimately left the party. I am not aligned with the values of our President nor his policies. 

“I believe we are in a Constitutional crisis. When the President defies laws written and enacted by the Congress, when he defies court orders, when he suggests individuals are not entitled to due process, when he essentially enriches his family business, all of those I believe are Constitutional violations.” The level of “corruption in plain sight,” he said, is unprecedented. 

“The crisis has occurred because the Congress has collapsed and refuses to hold the President accountable.” 

But if Democrats are going to defeat Trump and Trumpism, in Florida and the nation, it is not enough to be about what we are against, said Jolly. “It has to be about what we are for.” 

Unlike the previous Indivisible-organized demonstrations over the last several weeks, this rally began and ended at the courthouse steps, without attendees trooping over to US 41 to engage passing motorists. Instead, the gathering took on a “town hall” format, with audience members lining up to get on a microphone and ask (unscreened) questions of Jolly. One questioner pointed out that state elections, unlike Presidential contests, are won or lost by the popular vote. Jolly, asked about appearing in very red Collier County, picked up on this point, saying that in the gubernatorial race, “a Democratic vote in Naples counts as much as a vote in Miami-Dade. To win elections, where we’ve won, we have to win by more, and where we’ve lost, we have to lose by less.” 

After a good deal of Q&A, including the last questioner addressing him as “governor,” which is certainly premature and drew a laugh, Jolly moved from the sunny courthouse steps to the tree-shaded plaza, and continued to take questions one-on-one, holding his young son, while his wife Laura waited nearby. 

Jolly, an attorney and a fifth-generation Floridian born in Dunedin to a Baptist pastor father, was elected to Congress as a Republican. He represented Florida’s 13th congressional district, centered on Clearwater, and served from 2014 to 2017, before being defeated by Charlie Crist, who preceded Jolly in switching from Republican to Democrat, although Jolly drew a contrast on the nature of their conversions. 

Jolly has since appeared as a frequent commentator on cable television news, notably MSNBC, but once he officially announces his candidacy, he said, that will cease. 

Attendees from Marco Island included Jane Schlechtweg, chair of Collier Democrats and Marco Island resident, and Marco Island City Councilor Deb Henry. 

Indivisible has announced another rally that will take place on June 14, part of a nationwide day of defiance with the theme “NO KINGS,” timed to coincide with Donald Trump’s upcoming military parade in Washington on his birthday. Plans are still being finalized, said local Indivisible organizer Paul Stephens.