Former President Bill Clinton is joining Florida Democrats’ late push for votes, with a campaign appearance for gubernatorial nominee David Jolly scheduled two weeks before Election Day.
Clinton will appear alongside Jolly at an evening interfaith event in Hollywood on Tuesday, October 20. The visit will mark his first public campaign stop of the 2026 midterms, according to Jolly’s campaign.
The former president’s appearance comes as Jolly, a former Republican congressman who won the Democrat nomination in August, faces Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Democrats are bringing Clinton into a state where they have struggled for decades to win the governor’s office. Lawton Chiles was the last Democrat elected governor of Florida, winning reelection in 1994. Jolly is seeking to break that streak on November 3, but recent surveys offer different pictures of his chances against Donalds.
Clinton’s visit comes after a Stetson University poll released Tuesday showed Donalds ahead of Jolly by 11 points, 52% to 41%, among modeled likely voters. Other polling has shown a narrower contest. A St. Pete Polls survey conducted October 5–7 put the candidates at 45% each, while a YouGov survey released last week showed Donalds ahead 47% to 45%.
Clinton’s visit will take place as early voting begins in parts of Florida, giving Jolly a prominent Democrat surrogate during the final stretch of the campaign. The governor’s race is also drawing attention beyond the state.
The Cook Political Report moved the contest from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” earlier this month, keeping Republicans favored while acknowledging a more competitive race. The change came despite Donalds’ substantial financial advantage over Jolly. Clinton’s help for Florida Democrats extends beyond the governor’s contest.
Clinton and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries headlined a New York fundraiser earlier this week for Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), MS NOW reported. Moskowitz is seeking reelection in a newly drawn district described by the outlet as a toss-up after a DeSantis-backed congressional remapping altered his previous seat.
The former president has made similar late appearances in previous elections. During the 2022 midterms, he campaigned in New York, New Jersey, and South Texas in the closing days before voters went to the polls.
He took on a larger role in 2024, making dozens of campaign stops across battleground states for then-Vice President Kamala Harris while also supporting candidates further down the ballot.
