The Democratic Governors Association announced Tuesday that it will invest $1 million into David Jolly’s gubernatorial race against Republican Byron Donalds after months of watching Florida’s race from the sidelines.
“DGA is proud to support Jolly who has run an aggressive, grassroots campaign that has given him a clear path to victory,” Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohue said in a statement Tuesday evening.
National Democratic funding organizations have largely written off Florida in recent election cycles. The association’s investment in Jolly is the first time they’ve sent money to Florida since Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first campaign in 2018.
The state’s registered voter population has gotten significantly redder since then, and hardly any money from the national Democratic Party’s campaign funding groups has come into the state to stem the tide.
The Democratic Governors Association has been saying for months that it was watching Florida’s race and providing logistical support to Jolly, but had declined to financially invest in the race as other states showed more promise.
Just eight days ago, the DGA released a memo saying it was expanding its map with at least $10 million into other states — but again skipped over announcing any money for Florida’s race.
Meanwhile, other statewide Democratic candidates landed significant investments from outside Democratic groups.
Florida’s Democratic Party recently touted the $5 million from the Democratic Association of Attorneys General for candidate José Javier Rodríguez and $2.5 million for Senate candidate Angie Nixon from American Bridge PAC while celebrating national investment in Florida. Jolly’s face wasn’t on their graphic.
The association’s late-cycle investment in Jolly’s race is still much smaller than the more than $8 million they invested into Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum in 2018.
But, for Florida Democrats, who had received nothing from the group when early voting started on Monday, it’s a significant investment.
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