By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A former Republican Congressman-turned-Democrat gubernatorial candidate in Florida has announced one of his campaign issues will be gun control, according to Florida’s Voice.
David Jolly, who served as a Republican member of Congress, representing the Tampa area, from 2014 to 2017, may be running on long odds. According to NBC News, Jolly left the Republican party “in large part because of his opposition to President Donald Trump.”
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Jolly is hoping to get support from Sunshine State gun owners. However, that could be a tough sell, because he “favors much more stringent background checks, covering all forms of changing gun ownership, requiring liability insurance for firearms owners, and banning so-called assault weapons,” the newspaper said. Jolly argues most people consider these measures “sensible.”
Evidently, Jolly hasn’t included gun owners in his description of “most people.” The newspaper reached out to Luis Valdes, Florida director for Gun Owners of America, who put it bluntly: “Floridians will not stand by it. They will not support it… Jolly’s anti-gun perspective is not going to fly well in Florida.”
Current Gov. Ron DeSantis cannot run for another term under Florida law. Under DeSantis, gun rights have been restored in several areas, and there is potential for more.
Valdes reportedly observed, “Hundreds of thousands have fled states that have the policies that he (Jolly) wants enacted. And they’ve come to states like Florida specifically because Florida is less regulatory on the Second Amendment.”
Possibly another strike against Jolly is that he has become a repeat commentator on MSNBC, according to the NBC news report.
Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power is quoted stating, “Floridians won’t be swayed. Under Republican leadership, Florida enjoys low inflation, fiscal responsibility, and a thriving economy. School choice and parental rights are prioritized, and support for the rule of law is unmatched. We aren’t going backward with a flip-flopping political relic.”
Jolly was quoted by the Sun-Sentinel stating, “I came up embracing a broad Second Amendment interpretation. I’m now for the licensing, registration, and insurance of firearms. You can follow that journey through my time in Congress after Pulse. I was the only Republican joining the Democrats on the (House) floor, saying, ‘We’ve got to do something’.”
News agencies have noted Jolly was displaced by former Gov. Charlie Crist, who also left the Republican Party, who also ran for governor as a Democrat in 2014 and 2022, and lost both times.
