Byron Donalds Slams Dem David Jolly As 'Fundamentally Out of Touch' After Radical LGBTQ Endorsement

David Jolly used to run as a Republican in Pinellas County. Now he's picking up endorsements from activist groups pushing the kind of agenda that has almost nothing to do with what actual Florida voters raised their hands for in the last three elections. Byron Donalds calling him "fundamentally out of touch" isn't just a talking point. It's the plain read of a guy who switched teams and is now trying to sell Tampa retirees and Orlando parents on a platform built for a different electorate entirely.

Florida under DeSantis didn't happen by accident. Lower taxes, a state that stayed open when others locked down, a business climate that's been pulling companies and families out of California and New York for four years straight. That's the record Jolly has to run against. Instead of making an economic case, he's leaning into endorsements from groups whose priorities poll nowhere near the top of what Floridians actually worry about, gas prices, insurance premiums, hurricane recovery.

That's the tell. When a candidate can't win the argument on the issues that decide elections, he goes looking for a coalition that cares more about symbolism than kitchen-table problems. Jolly is betting Florida has drifted further left than it has. We'd bet against that, given how badly that bet has already failed statewide twice.

Term limits mean DeSantis is gone from the ballot, not the blueprint. The question for Florida voters isn't complicated: keep building on what's working, or hand the wheel to someone whose closest allies are further from the mainstream than he is willing to admit.