David Jolly picks Gwen Graham as running mate for Florida 2026 governor race

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - David Jolly, the Pinellas Democrat leading his party's race for governor, announced Wednesday that former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham will join him on the ticket.

Jolly is the first major gubernatorial candidate to announce his lieutenant governor.

"This is a generational moment that requires generational leadership," Jolly said Wednesday.

Graham is the daughter of former Florida Gov. Bob Graham. She ran for governor in 2018 but lost in the primary to Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who was the more progressive candidate.

Jolly, who was a Republican when he served as Pinellas' U.S. representative, has run his campaign as a moderate Democrat. Graham joins him on the ticket in the center-left.

Jolly said he chose Graham because he was looking for someone who was capable of serving the state "not just as lieutenant governor but as governor." He said he and Graham would be a governing partnership.

Her loss in 2018 to the U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders-endorsed Gillum was seen as a rejection of Graham's milder, occasionally Republican-friendly brand of politics. Gillum later lost to Republican Ron DeSantis in the general election by less than half a percentage point.

But the Florida of 2026, branded by DeSantis as the ideal state for conservatives, isn't the Florida of 2018. Jolly and Graham are embracing their centrist bona fides rather than running away from them.

"David and I are in this campaign because the Florida we love, the Florida we all love, frankly is slipping away," Graham said.

When launching his campaign, Jolly said his policies had changed but his values hadn't, emphasizing his belief in fiscal restraint and small government.

Jolly's announcement comes a week after his main opponent for the Democratic nomination, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, withdrew from the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Among Republicans, there are several high-profile candidates, including President Donald Trump's pick, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds. Other Republicans include investor James Fishback, former House Speaker Paul Renner and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.

In a statement, Evan Power, the head of the Republican Party of Florida, said that Jolly and Graham are "the perfect representatives of today's Florida Democratic Party."

"David Jolly has spent years changing his beliefs whenever it benefits his political career, while Gwen Graham abandoned the North Florida values she once claimed to represent and went to work advancing Joe Biden's radical education agenda in Washington," Powers said.

DeSantis is term-limited. He has not yet endorsed a candidate to replace him.

The primary election is Aug. 18.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 11:24 AM.