Why I’m all in for David Jolly for Governor

I’ve spent nearly two decades in Florida politics building campaigns, crafting messages, and helping candidates earn the trust of voters across this magnificent, complicated, deeply misunderstood state. I’ve watched Florida drift. I’ve watched it stumble. And I’ve spent the better part of the last few years asking myself the same question a lot of Floridians are quietly asking: how can we restore decency, respect and a commitment to improve the lives of our families, friends and neighbors.

Today, I have an answer. And his name is David Jolly.

I am proud to announce that I have joined the Jolly for Governor campaign as a senior adviser. This is not a decision I made lightly. I never do. But it is one I made with full conviction and, frankly, with a sense of urgency I haven’t felt in a long time.

I’m a proud Democrat. I’ve fought for Democratic values my entire career — in legislative hallways, in field offices, on debate prep stages, and in edit bays cutting ads at two in the morning. I believe in a government that serves all people, not just those connected. I believe in an economy that creates opportunity for everyone, not just those at the top. And I believe that Florida — this diverse, dynamic, sun-drenched state I was born and raised in — deserves so much better than what it’s gotten.

Jolly is not the easiest candidate to explain. I know that. He spent years as a Republican Congressman. He’s appeared on more cable news panels than I can count. He has made the kind of political journey that invites skepticism — and that skepticism is fair. Politics has been burned before by party-switchers who were more interested in reinvention than in results.

But here is what I know about Jolly after spending real time with him: he is the real thing.

He is not running because he needs a platform. He is running because he is angry — the right kind of angry — at what two decades of one-party rule have done to Florida families. He is angry that housing costs have exploded while wages have stagnated. He is angry that our public schools are being used as a political battleground instead of places of learning and possibility. He is angry that seniors, veterans, and working families are being left behind while Tallahassee fights culture wars that serve no one.

And unlike a lot of politicians I’ve met — and I’ve met a lot — David doesn’t just talk about those problems. He leans in. He asks the harder follow-up question. He sits with the discomfort. That’s rare.

I’ve built winning campaigns for some of Florida’s finest public servants — from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to Mayor Eileen Higgins, from state attorneys to County Commissioners and state legislators. What I’ve learned is that voters don’t just want a candidate with the right positions. They want to feel that the person asking for their vote actually sees them. David Jolly sees people.

He sees the retiree in Pinellas County who can’t afford her homeowner’s insurance. He sees the teacher in Miami-Dade who loves her students but is exhausted by the politics swirling around her classroom. He sees the small business owner in Orlando who needs a government that gets out of the way and lets him succeed. And he has the rare ability — rarer than people realize — to speak to all of them.

Will this be easy? Absolutely not. Florida has not elected a Democratic Governor since Lawton Chiles. Republicans have more registered voters, more money, and the tailwind of incumbency. I have never been one to pretend that the map is anything other than what it is.

But I have also spent my career proving that with the right candidate coalitions can be rebuilt and the formula can add up for us. Voters who feel forgotten can be re-engaged — if you give them something real to vote for.

David Jolly is something real to vote for.

This race will be won in the middle, in the persuadable, in the places where Florida voters are tired of the noise and desperate for someone who will just govern. David can win those voters. I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it. And I intend to help him do it.

I was born in Miami to a family that fled Nicaragua in search of something better. Florida gave us something better. I have spent my professional life trying to give back — to make this state work for everyone who calls it home, regardless of where they came from or what party card they carry.

This campaign is about that mission. It’s about finishing the work that Florida has left undone for far too long.

I’m all in for David Jolly. And I hope Florida will be too.

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Christian Ulvert is the founder and president of EDGE Communications and a leading Florida political strategist. He has served as the FL House Democratic Caucus senior adviser 2012-2014, political adviser to the Florida Democratic Party Chair from 2014-2016, senior adviser and lead strategist for campaigns across Florida, including Biden for President in 2020, Miami-Dade County Mayor Levine Cava, Miami Mayor Higgins, State Attorneys Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Alexcia Cox, State Sens. Lauren Book and Shevrin Jones, and State Reps. Ashley Gantt, Allison Tant and many more.