While David Jolly will be the nominee, he still faces a primary. Here's who else is running
News and commentary straight out of Florida
By J.C. Bruce
David Jolly will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor in the 2026 midterm election, almost certainly facing off against U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Naples Republican.
But, for the record, Jolly, a former Republican-turned-Democrat, must endure the August 18 primary election before it is official, and there are five other Democrats who have tossed their hats in the ring to run against him.
Don’t be concerned if most—or all—of them are unfamiliar. But they each bring their own life stories to the fray.
They are:
State Rep. Dotie Joseph of North Miami, is a lawyer specializing in government and business law who draws inspiration from former President Jimmy Carter with whom she interned at his Carter Center in Atlanta. She’s running to “give voters an option to vote for someone with a solid record of fighting only for them, not whomever can fill their campaign coffers.”
Dayna Marie Foster is a New York transplant who lives in Fort Lauderdale who just finished her last year of teaching algebra in Broward County’s public school system. Inspired by Shirley Chisholm, her issues are affordability, gun safety, immigrant rights, housing and Everglades restoration.
Evelyn Castillo-Bach of Pembroke Pines is executive director of the Balance Justice Network, an organization she created after the “unlawful conviction” of her son. Her top issues are affordability, healthcare, and protecting the Everglades.
Thomas Fernandez, of Homestead is a Cuba native who arrived on our shores as part of the Mariel boatlift in 1980. He’s a retired Air Force medical technician. He says he wants to protect everyday families against the “what ifs” of rising costs, sudden healthcare needs, and gaps in childcare and education.
Stephann Norman of Tampa, who lists his current occupation as volunteering in the Tampa Bay area community, and who says his inspiration for running is “Mom, God, and Barack Obama.”
The Florida Phoenix has done an admirable job of interviewing these candidates, asking each of them questions such as their reason for running, their media strategy, their thoughts on David Jolly, their inspiration for running, and what they see as the top issues.
You can read the full report here:
For more information from the candidates’ websites and other online sources, click on their names (in red type) in the above report.
DeSantis urged to halt execution
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis set a record: He signed the death warrants for 19 executions.
As the Miami Herald explains:
In 2025, Florida nearly doubled the national average of executions with a record-breaking 19 executions. Texas is the only other state that has ever exceeded 18 executions in a year’s span, doing so back in 2009.
Florida’s uptick in executions is due, in part, to the state’s new death penalty laws. In 2023, DeSantis signed a law that allows juries to recommend a death sentence with an 8-4 vote instead of unanimously. DeSantis pushed for the change after the Parkland school shooter, who killed 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in 2018, was spared from the death penalty in 2022.
Catholic Church leaders in Florida are now pushing back and urging the governor to halt a scheduled execution today of 74-year-old veteran Dusty Roy Spencer who would be the oldest person ever to be put to death in the state’s history.
The Catholic Church has a long history of opposing the death penalty.
DeSantis finally gets the budget
Florida lawmakers this week sent Gov. Ron DeSantis their $114.5 billion budget for the coming fiscal year, just one week ahead of the deadline to keep the state government up and running.
DeSantis received the 550-page package nearly a month after it was passed. He must act on it before July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year.
And although lawmakers have proudly touted that their budget is below spending lines from previous years, the Florida Phoenix reports, DeSantis has already vowed to slice at least $800 million from the bundle. He holds the power of the line-item veto.
Florida Man Report: Blame the Anti-Christ
A Florida man who claimed he saw the anti-Christ moments before troopers say he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed into another vehicle on I-75 in Hernando County is accused of trying to steal a medical helicopter that landed at the scene to take patients to an area hospital.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the truck veered off the road, struck another vehicle and overturned into the woods, according to Orlando’s WOFL.
Two people inside the second vehicle suffered serious injuries in the crash. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office shut down the northbound lanes so a medical transport helicopter could land to transport the patients.
Troopers said that while fire rescue crews prepared the two patients for the helicopter, the truck driver ran past all first responders at the scene, then tried to steal the medical helicopter but was not successful.
He faces three counts of resisting without violence and one count of burglary of an occupied conveyance.
Thanks for your support
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.
Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.
J.C. Bruce
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Thank you for the information on the candidates. It's very helpful. Haven't been able to find a good resource in the past.
Great info on all the candidates. Thank you JC Bruce!