Democrat David Jolly has enjoyed his most productive fundraising quarter since entering the Florida Governor’s race, raising more than $1 million in the final three months of 2025. But while that brings his total raised so far to more than $3 million — between his campaign and affiliated political committee — it is far behind the Republican frontrunner in the race, Byron Donalds, who has raised $45 million.

While Jolly’s numbers are self-reported — campaign finance reports are not due until January 12 — contributions reported to his Florida 2026 political committee on its website show just shy of $400,000 raised in the fourth quarter as of Christmas, with about $430,000 spent during that same period.

If the Jolly campaign’s numbers are accurate, it represents the biggest fiscal quarter haul since Jolly entered the race in June. The campaign is touting the contributions as mostly grassroots.

“Floridians are telling us they want leaders who will lower costs and fix the insurance market, not more petty politics as usual,” Jolly said. “This quarter shows our message is resonating in every corner of the state and our campaign’s momentum continues to grow. This fundraising strength allows us to keep building the broad coalition needed to win.”

Details about contributions to his official campaign account won’t be available until reports are filed. Still, data from his affiliated political committee website supports Jolly’s claim about support hailing from all corners of the state. Most contributions came from in-state, from South Florida to the panhandle and everywhere in between, including hefty buy-ins from Barbara Stiefel in Coral Gables, with a $25,000 contribution, and $10,000 from Edward Droste in Clearwater, Jo Ann Tredennick in Jacksonville, Peace Sullivan in Miami Beach and Donald Hinkle, a Tallahassee attorney. Another $25,000 came from the Alfred C. Clark Trust.

Donations rolled in from all 67 Florida counties, according to the Jolly campaign.

But a large chunk of Jolly’s fourth-quarter committee contributions came from a single source, out of state, with $250,000 from Deborah Simon in Indiana. Jolly’s campaign acknowledged and touted out-of-state support, noting that donations have come from all 50 states, demonstrating a “growing national profile.”

“David Jolly is running a campaign focused on listening, not lecturing,” Jolly Campaign Chair Mitchell Berger said. “This fundraising report reflects more than financial strength. It reflects a movement bringing together Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who want solutions, not division.”

The campaign says it has held more than 140 grassroots events and town halls across the state and has attracted more than 6,000 active volunteers.

While fourth-quarter campaign spending is not yet publicly available, committee records show Florida 2026 spent about $430,000, including $105,000 sent to the state Democratic Party. Other top expenditures include $61,000 to Kentucky-based Outperform Strategies for consulting; $40,000 to Denver-based Lawlor Strategies for consulting; $50,000 for consulting services from TLM Marketing in Delaware; $30,000 for compliance and legal services from The Law Offices of Dan Daley in Fort Lauderdale; $25,000 for consulting services from Seminole-based Wildcat Digital; $15,000 for consulting services from Bendixen & Amandi in Miami; and $10,000 for consulting services from Goinup in Largo.

Notably, the committee reimbursed Jolly about $50,000 for various expenses, such as lodging, meals and travel.

While Jolly’s fundraising so far pales in comparison to Donalds, it’s unclear how competitive Jolly’s activity is with Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who is also vying for the Democratic nomination for Governor. Demings has not yet filed financial reports for the fourth quarter or announced fundraising totals for the period. This will be the first report Demings files since entering the race in November.

While the Democratic Primary will be competitive — polling last month showed Jolly and Demings locked in a dead heat — the General Election is likely to be less so. Republicans now hold a commanding voter registration advantage in the Sunshine State, at about 1.3 million more voters than Democrats, an approximately six percentage point advantage.

Jolly, a former Republican who left the party in 2018 to become a political independent and then registered in April as a Democrat, has said his moderate positions will attract nonpartisans and what he describes as “soft Republicans,” and that there is a lane for a centrist Democrat.

An October poll of the General Election showed Donalds leading Jolly by 11 percentage points and Demings by 12. An internal poll from the Jolly campaign, conducted by Bendixen & Amandi International in September, showed a much tighter race, with Jolly and Donalds in a statistical tie. However, internal polls do not always accurately reflect voter sentiment.

And if it is accurate, it would be a huge departure from three years ago, when Gov. Ron DeSantis walloped then-Democratic nominee Charlie Crist by nearly 20 percentage points.

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