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David Jolly, the MSNBC political analyst and former GOP Congressman turned independent turned Democrat, told VoxPopuli Monday that rebuilding the Obama coalition is “what it’s going to take” for Democrats to win Florida. Jolly has made no secret that he is “strongly considering” a run for governor and said he would make an announcement before Memorial Day.
“The job of a candidate or as the party is to build that coalition of people in communities across the state. If I’m running statewide, you are going to move votes in your community before I’m going to be able to,” Jolly said, standing outside of the John Bridges Community Center in Apopka, following a town hall that featured several local politicians and community advocates. The town hall drew more than 200 voters, angry about Congressman Daniel Webster’s refusal to hold his own town halls or participate in Congressional votes. The Tallahassee Democrat reported last month that Webster, having skipped 446 of 8,609 roll call votes between January 2011 and March 2025, earned the distinction of being the least effective legislator in Congress, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.
Jolly pointed to different segments of the population, like millennials, Cuban-Americans, environmentalists, and said that wherever voters find community, trusted messengers within those communities would be needed to carry the message: supporting a government and economy that serves all people; protecting people’s dignity; investing in climate resiliency, cutting insurance rates in half; funding public schools; and reforming the voucher program to serve the families that need it.
“None of that is culture wars,” Jolly said. “None of that is the silliness that we see from Republicans.”
During the town hall, Jolly responded to a question from a 31-year-old Black millennial who wanted to know “what the strategy was” for politicians to connect with high-schoolers, college students, other voters who want to get involved. “I’ve been to four of these [town halls], and everyone’s like Join a list, join a list. Then what happens?” she asked.
Jolly said hers was the “most important question of the evening” and laid out the coalition-building strategy.
“The way to mobilize in The Villages is with stakeholders in The Villages, neighbor to neighbor. The way we mobilize in Black churches is for Black parishioners to say We got to get out and vote for Democrats. The way we mobilize white evangelical churches is to have white evangelical Christians in the pews saying I’m a Democrat and I’m proud of it. The way we move this state is as a coalition.”
And he shared what he learned growing up as “a preacher’s kid”: Each one, reach one.
“This is that cycle,” he said. “You register someone to vote. The person who’s registered, you get them to vote for Democrats. The Democrat who didn’t vote last time, you get them to promise to turn out to vote."
Jolly said he believed there was a coalition of people who want responsible government and an economy that works for everyone. He believes building it will take a year.
“But I’m pretty confident we can do it.”
