With Democrat David Jolly being out-fundraised by more than $100 million in his bid to defeat Republican Byron Donalds and become Florida’s next governor, his campaign will take any support it can get.
Some arrived this week in the form of a campaign ad airing in selected Florida markets bashing Donalds for not being able to tell the difference between “right and wrong.”
The ad is paid for by a group calling itself Conservatives for Ethical Leadership, chaired by former Republican state lawmaker-turned-Democrat J.C. Planas and is affiliated with the Lincoln Project, led by famed “Never Trumper” Rick Wilson, a former Republican strategist based in Tallahassee.
The group says the ad is airing on cable in the Tallahassee media market and running digitally in all of the 17 counties Donalds lost in the GOP primary election in August to Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. It’s also airing in the Villages.
“Every conservative in Florida was raised to know right from wrong. Byron Donalds’ record shows he can’t tell the difference,” Planas said in a written statement. “This is not about party. It is about character. The voters in these counties took a hard look at him in August and said no, and nothing he has done since should change their minds.”
Conservatives for Ethical Leadership was created in June and is primarily funded by another political committee called Affordable Florida. It ran a digital ad earlier this summer calling out Donalds for his support for AI data centers.
Meanwhile, the Donalds campaign released two ads Tuesday aimed at raising his support within the GOP base, featuring the endorsements that he’s received from President Trump and Ron DeSantis.
“Byron Donalds will continue Governor DeSantis’ leadership and work to cut taxes, lower insurance bills, and make Florida more affordable,” said Ryan Smith, chief campaign strategist for Donalds. “Byron Donalds is proud to have the endorsement of former President Trump and Governor DeSantis, and he will fight side by side with them to keep the Left’s radical and costly agenda out of Florida.”
The most recent campaign funding reports show Donalds having raised more than $134 million, while Jolly has raised less than $17 million.
