What does David Jolly love about Florida, and what does he think we're losing?
David Jolly loves the Florida he grew up in, a place with a dreamlike quality where people came for affordable sunshine, quality of life, and a state that was always moving toward hospitality for everyone. What he believes Florida is losing is that same affordability and welcome, saying the state has slid backwards over the last decade and is slipping away from too many families.[1]
At a glance
A dreamlike place
Jolly describes the Florida he remembers as a special place people came to for affordable sunshine and quality of life, and he says it is still special.[1]
Slipping away
He says for too many people the state is no longer affordable and they no longer feel welcome, and that Florida has slid backwards over the last decade.[1]
Always moving forward
Jolly points to the Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles eras as a Florida that had real problems but was always moving toward hospitality for everyone.[2]
The Florida I Remember (And What We're Losing). David Jolly on the state he grew up in and the state he sees slipping away.
The Florida he remembers
There used to be a certain dreamlike quality to Florida. People retired here for a quality of life, for affordable sunshine.[1] David Jolly grew up here. He describes realizing as a kid that everybody wanted to come to Florida, whether for a Disney vacation or the sunshine, and thinking there was something special about the place.[1]
That love is not nostalgia dressed up for a campaign. It is specific. It is the coastline. Laura Jolly puts it plainly on their Saturdays at the beach with their kids. God made such a beautiful coastline here in Florida, she says, and it is our duty to protect it.[3] Different voices in the same family. The same understanding of what Florida is.
What we're losing
This isn't a complaint about the weather. It's an accounting of what has changed. Jolly says the state is getting away from us, that for too many people it is no longer affordable and they don't feel welcome.[1] He names the affordability crisis and the culture wars as the two things Floridians raise most, drawn from town halls across the state with groups from ten people to five hundred.[4]
The through-line is loss. Loss of affordability. Loss of welcome. Jolly harks back to the Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles eras and does not pretend they were perfect. Florida had real problems then, including slow progress on civil rights.[2] But he argues the state was always moving toward hospitality for everyone, and that in the last decade it has slid backwards.[2] That's the difference. Not perfect then. Moving forward then.
Why he still believes
Even naming the loss, Jolly insists Florida is still a remarkably special place, still slipping but still worth fighting for.[1] He says there are enough people who believe in something better, and that those shared values form a coalition of the willing.[1] This isn't resignation. It's a reason to stay.
The full picture of how the campaign proposes to make Florida affordable and welcoming again lives on the main issue hub. This page answers one question: what he loves, and what he believes is being lost. Florida is still special. Right now, for too many families, it is slipping away.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does David Jolly love most about Florida?
Jolly describes a dreamlike quality to the Florida he grew up in, a place people came to for affordable sunshine and quality of life, and a place he says is still remarkably special despite the divisiveness in politics and the economy.[1]
Q. What does David Jolly think Florida is losing?
He says the state is getting away from us. For too many people it is no longer affordable, and they no longer feel welcome. He believes Florida has slid backwards over the last decade.[1]
Q. Which era of Florida does David Jolly point back to?
He harks back to the Bob Graham era and the Lawton Chiles era, acknowledging Florida had real challenges then, including being slow to embrace the civil rights era, but arguing the state was always moving toward hospitality for everyone at the time.[2]
Q. Does David Jolly think Florida can still be saved?
Yes. He says it is still that special place even as it slips away, and that there are enough people who believe in something better, forming what he calls a coalition of the willing with a shot to change the world.[1]
Q. How does the Jolly family talk about protecting Florida's coastline?
Laura Jolly, David's wife, says taking their kids to the beach on Saturdays is one of their favorite things, that God made such a beautiful coastline in Florida, and that it is our duty to protect it, adding she believes the state has not done a good job of that in recent years.[3]
Q. What did David Jolly hear from Floridians on his town hall tour?
From town halls across the state with groups ranging from ten people to five hundred, Jolly says the two themes people raise most consistently are that Florida is gripped by an affordability crisis and exhausted by culture wars.[4]
Q. Where can I see David Jolly's full plan for Florida's affordability crisis?
This page focuses on what Jolly loves about Florida and what he believes is being lost. The full set of solutions on affordability, housing, healthcare, education, and insurance lives on the main issue hub for the campaign.[5]
Sources
- The Florida I Remember (David Jolly, campaign video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkfxm8tM_Q · 2026-05-21
- David Jolly on Florida sliding backwards (campaign video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkfxm8tM_Q · 2026-05-21
- The Florida I Remember (Laura Jolly + David Jolly), https://davidjolly.com/videos/florida-i-remember · 2026-05-21
- David Jolly on town hall themes across Florida (campaign video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzSpIBCQ6UU · 2026-03-09
- David Jolly for Governor, Affordability and Insurance Crisis, https://davidjolly.com/affordability · 2026-05-21
Still special. Still slipping away.
Florida can be a place that moves forward again. Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.