With Election Day less than two weeks away, Democrat David Jolly’s campaign for Florida governor got a major boost, both financially and intrinsically, Tuesday in the form of former President Bill Clinton.
Read more At least 1 lunar landing company may get off a moonshot this year
Jolly and Clinton joined for an interfaith event at the Koinonia Worship Center in Pembroke Park on Tuesday night, marking Clinton’s first public campaign event of this election cycle. Clinton’s appearance set out to send the message that Florida still has a strong chance to elect a Democratic governor, a feat that hasn’t happened since 1991.
A 53-year-old former U.S. House of Representatives member and ex-GOP member, Jolly early on his remarks tapped into that message, after joking that he was only “the warm-up act” for Clinton: “I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen. What’s gonna happen on election night is this state’s about to elect a Democratic governor …” as the sound of the crowd of about 400 people clapping and shouting overpowered his voice.
His opponent is the Republican candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, 47, who garnered early support from President Donald Trump, as did Gov. Ron DeSantis in his 2018 campaign. Four recent public opinion polls show Donalds, who was once registered as a Democrat, with a narrow lead over Jolly in the race.
Inside the church Tuesday night, a small choir sang Gospel and Soul music, including Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” before Jolly and Clinton entered. County Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis made the first remarks of the night with an introduction; when she called Jolly “our soon-to-be governor,” the crowd clapped and cheered.
Leaders from Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths gave short remarks and prayers. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and state Reps. Christine Hunschofsky and Marie Woodson were among several lawmakers in attendance. Jolly’s wife, Laura, as well as his running mate for lieutenant governor, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who is the daughter of former governor and senator Bob Graham, were also in attendance.
Jolly entered into a nearly full-capacity room about 7 p.m. and launched into a spirited 18-minute speech that earned him a nickname from Clinton — “Reverend Jolly.”
With a campaign largely centered around affordability for Floridians, from health-care costs to property insurance to under-funded public schools, Jolly centered much of his remarks around the themes of the “fundamental goodness” of people and “the calling of history.”
Bill Clinton campaigns with Florida governor candidate David Jolly in Broward | PHOTOS
Throughout his speech, Jolly touched on his Christian faith while also citing the Quran and the Founding Fathers, acknowledging those who have “no faith at all.” At some moments, his supporters chanted his last name.
About halfway into his speech, Jolly noted he hadn’t yet talked about any policies.
“Because you don’t need to speak about policies when you recognize that the calling is for us to heal,” he said, then rattled off how Florida can improve housing costs and access to health care, cut homeowners’ insurance costs and invest in public education. He spoke about being part of a broken and polarized country yet it being one that is “ready for change.”
“… We will never make America great again if we don’t first make America good again,” he said.
The audience was energetic as Clinton entered the room with “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder playing. Organizers had to tell some guests toward the back of the room to sit down after they left their seats to get a little closer to the stage, trying to get a video or photo of the political celebrity on their cellphones.
The 80-year-old stood behind a lectern at the front of the crowd in his blue suit and opened his half-hour speech with a comment about his age.
“For most of my life, I was the youngest person doing whatever I was doing. One day I woke up, I was the oldest man in every room. I’m not sure how I got from here to there. I will say that one blessing of being 80 is you can say whatever you want. Most people don’t care anymore,” Clinton said.
Read more 2 Central Florida restaurants shut down after health inspections last week
It was among many of his comments, quips and jabs that drew laughs while he spoke. More seriously, Clinton numerous times in his speech said he was tired of the state of politics in the country, from the U.S.’s current handling of foreign affairs to political divisiveness to “the religious wars” and “the culture wars.”
The list of Sun Sentinel endorsements | Editorial
“I’m just tired. But there is a big difference between being tired and being through,” Clinton said as supporters applauded. “I’m not through trying to make things better, and from what I heard tonight, I don’t think you are either.”
Clinton said Jolly and Graham, whose father he called one of the best governors he had ever met, are running for “the right reasons.”
“To give every Floridian, without regard to race, politics, religion, you name it, a chance to build a better life for themselves, their children, their state. And he has the background, the willingness, the ability and the determination to get it done,” Clinton said.
Clinton spoke briefly about Donalds, referring to him only as “his opponent.” He said he laughed when he saw recently that Donalds had removed several references of Trump from his campaign website, as reported by the Miami Herald.
“Now, I understand the need to periodically update your website,” Clinton said as the room erupted in laughter. “People in Florida are entitled to know, I think, whether you changed your mind or just changed the words, hoping nobody will notice. If the [Trump] agenda was good for Florida a few weeks ago, why don’t you want to talk about it anymore? And if it isn’t good enough, why don’t you just say?”
Donalds’ campaign in a written statement before the event started Tuesday night bashed the former president’s appearance.
“No has-been Democrat surrogate is going to change the fact that Democrat David Jolly would raise taxes on Floridians, make life more expensive, and ‘test the limits’ of Florida’s constitution to force woke policies on the Sunshine State,” Donalds’ communications director Gates McGavick said. “Byron Donalds has the plan to make Florida more affordable and will keep Florida red on November 3rd — and he looks forward to campaigning with President Trump in Ft. Myers this Friday.”
Donalds’ campaign has far surpassed Jolly in funds, with contributions totaling about $149 million compared to Jolly’s about $22 million, the state campaign finance database’s latest numbers show. But on Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association said it would contribute $1 million to Jolly, the Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking with reporters after the event, Jolly called the DGA’s investment “late breaking, but we’ll take every dollar we have.” He acknowledged that the totals between the two campaigns are “dramatically different” and added that a private fundraiser with Clinton earlier in the day raised an additional $3 million for his campaign.
As of 2026, there are 5.7 million active registered Republicans in Florida, nearly 1.5 million more than the number of Democrats and more than 2.3 million more than the number of those with no party affiliation. The number of registered Democrats in the state has not surpassed the number of Republicans since 2020.
But in Broward, a county that remains Florida’s biggest Democratic stronghold, voters vastly favor Jolly over Donalds, polls show.
Your 2026 guide to voting early, by mail, and on Election Day in Florida. Ensure your ballot is counted.
Wrapping up his speech, Jolly left the crowd with a motivational message about the gap between red and blue in the state.
“I want to tell you what’s going to happen in the newsrooms across the country … When David Jolly and Gwen Graham have the opportunity to be elected the next governor and lieutenant governor of Florida, that’s not going to be the story … The story’s going to be about a people in the deep red state of Florida, that after 30 years, realize that we are broken, we are being told to remain divided, and we’re not going to do that anymore,” Jolly shouted.
Read more With 2 weeks to go, new UNF poll shows Donalds and Jolly neck and neck
He received a standing ovation.
Information from the Sun Sentinel archives contributed to this report.