Congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds (R-Fl) shared that he has agreed to three debates against Democratic challenger David Jolly in the race for governor.
"Today, I accepted three gubernatorial debates with Telemundo/NBC 6, News4Jax, and Spectrum News. Two podiums, no audience, just policy," Donalds wrote. "I look forward to laying out my vision to make Florida affordable, achievable, and accountable."
The announcement comes after Rep. Donalds challenged Jolly to three debates for governor in July. Jolly has not responded to Donalds' agreement as of Friday afternoon.
While not officially set in stone, the announcement comes as the race for governor appears to be heating up. According to Inside Elections, the gubernatorial contest has shifted from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican" after being "solid Republican" to "likely Republican" earlier this month.
In addition, a Cook Political Report shifted the race from "solid Republican" to "likely Republican" in late August. Other polls from St. Pete Polls and Change Research show a tight race, even with Jolly in the lead.
Florida hasn't elected a Democratic governor since Lawton Chiles in 1994. Since then, four Republicans have been elected, including Gov. Ron DeSantis for two terms.
Gov. DeSantis' re-election over Democrat Charlie Crist by over 19 points was also the largest margin of victory in a Florida governor's race since 1982.
But that might be an outlier. Since 2006, every Florida gubernatorial election has been decided by single digits, including Gov. DeSantis's razor thin 0.4% margin over Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018.
Here is the list.
- 2022: DeSantis vs. Crist (19.4%)
- 2018: DeSantis vs Gillum (0.4%)
- 2014: Scott vs Crist (1.0%)
- 2010: Scott vs Sink (1.2%)
- 2006: Crist* vs Davis (7.2%)
* Crist was a Republican in the 2006 race.
Republican Jeb Bush was the last candidate to win by double digits (12.85%) in 2002 until DeSantis's historic win four years ago. Bush also won by over 10 points against Democrat Buddy MacKay in 1998, who briefly became governor and ran as the Democratic nominee following Chiles' death in office in December of that year.
Mark Riddle, Jolly's senior advisor, has responded to the announcement, saying, "David Jolly has already accepted two debates, with Tampa Bay Tiger Bay and CBS Miami's Jim DeFede. Byron Donalds has now ducked those two, plus countless debates with his fellow Republicans in the primary."
