JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While making his rounds in Florida to talk about the affordability crisis, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, who is vying to become Florida’s next governor, made a stop in St. Johns County on Monday.
“We’re in every corner of the state,” Jolly said. “Talking about our solutions, talking about why we believe this is an opportunity to change the direction of Florida.”
Recommended Videos
RELATED | Trump visits ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention site in the Florida Everglades
Jolly announced his bid for the governor’s seat in June. The once Republican lawmaker turned Democratic prospective state governor talked with News4JAX about pressing issues like immigration and the possibility of Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis running for the governor’s office as well.
President Donald Trump made a trip to Florida on Tuesday to visit the new immigration detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Jolly called the plan a “callous political stunt.”
RELATED: ‘I’ve grown’: Former Republican lawmaker David Jolly announces run for Florida governor as Democrat
“I want to be clear about something,” he said. “We need to be a state that fights crime. We should be a party, a Democratic party, that’s willing to fight crime, but that doesn’t mean we fight communities.”
He criticized DeSantis’ approach to immigration laws, stating there needed to be a shift in focus.
“If the only thing that someone’s done in the State of Florida is to try to pursue the American dream to put food on the table for their kids,” he said. “If that’s all they’ve done, I’m not sure we need to be focusing our law enforcement resources on going to find them. I think we should be attacking those who are engaging in gun violence and drug trade. There are a lot of places where we could be putting our law enforcement resources now.”
DeSantis also said Camp Blanding in Clay County was being considered for an ICE detention facility. To that point, Jolly said DeSantis is waging a war on immigration and not on crime.
He wasn’t against the idea of an expansion, if necessary, but he did not support DeSantis’s approach.
“If someone is a violent offender, then we have the capacity for them. And if we need additional capacity, then we should build it. That’s OK,” he stated. “But if we were talking about building detention facilities for people who have not broken any law other than being in the United States without documentation, but who are participating in our economy and our culture, I just think it’s a political stunt.”
In a statement, Jolly also spoke about his plans if he were to be elected in the 2026 gubernatorial race, saying, in part, “As Governor, I will rescind the current Governor’s emergency order, return control of the airfield to Miami-Dade County, protect the Everglades and the ancestral Miccosukee lands, and ensure that those whose only offense is pursuing the American dream on behalf of their family and kids can continue contributing to Florida’s culture and economy.”
We also asked Jolly how he felt about Casey DeSantis possibly becoming one of his opponents.
“Republicans have their own family conversation,” he said. “Donald Trump has endorsed Byron Donald, and Gov. DeSantis wants anybody but Byron. I think they’re going to have a pretty messy political conversation between now and next August.”
