David Jolly

David W. Jolly was born on October 31, 1972 in Dunedin, Florida. He graduated from Pasco High School in Dade City in 1990, earned a B.A. from Emory University in 1994 and a J.D. from George Mason University in 2001. From 1994 to 2006 he worked on the staff of U.S. Representative C.W. Bill Young of Florida, then practiced law. After Young's death he won a special election as a Republican and served in the U.S. House from March 11, 2014 to January 3, 2017; he lost his 2016 bid for reelection. He then spent about seven years as an independent and worked for nearly a decade as a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. He joined the Democratic Party in 2025 and launched his campaign for Governor of Florida in June 2025 with Gwen Graham as his running mate. He won the August 18, 2026 Democratic primary with about 62 percent of the vote and faces Republican Byron Donalds on November 3, 2026. He lives in Pinellas County.