With Florida's gubernatorial election set for November 3 and recent polls showing a tight contest, Democratic nominee David Jolly and Republican candidate Byron Donalds are competing for Black voters whose turnout could decide the outcome.
On October 12, 2026, South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn joined Jolly at a Tallahassee luncheon to urge Black voters to participate.
A St. Pete Polls survey released October 7 found Jolly and Donalds tied at 45% each.
Other surveys have given Donalds a narrow lead, while polling consistently shows Jolly receiving substantially more support among Black voters, according to reports by Yahoo News, U.
S. News & World Report and Florida Politics.
A Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey of 625 registered voters conducted September 28 through October 1 put Jolly's support among Black voters at 76%, compared with 10% for Donalds, with 14% undecided.
A separate St. Pete Polls survey cited by Florida Politics placed Jolly at 65%, Donalds at 14% and undecided voters at 16% among Black respondents.
Clyburn urged community leaders and attendees to focus on mobilizing voters rather than trying to persuade them to change their political preferences.
"These little devices have been changing governments all over the world. It's time for us to use them ...
to get people to the polls."
Clyburn said at the luncheon, encouraging attendees to repeatedly contact relatives, friends and neighbors to ensure they vote.
Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched to the Democratic Party, has built his campaign around housing, health care and education.
He has also pledged to reverse policies associated with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, including restrictions on classroom instruction.
Speaking in Tallahassee, Jolly attributed the state's renewed competitiveness to political divisions.
"The only reason this state is now competitive again is because we are a state that has been broken by division.
We're being told too often on the other side of the aisle that the answer is just to keep hating each other."
Jolly said.
Jolly has also campaigned at Black churches and met with civil rights leaders.
On October 11, he attended a celebration at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee honoring the Rev. R.
B. Holmes' 40th anniversary as pastor, alongside the Rev.
Al Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
He also plans to hold a town hall at Florida A&M University, the state's only public historically Black university.
The event follows a separate appearance by Donalds, who attended the institution before entering politics.
Donalds, a Republican congressman representing the Naples area, could become Florida's first Black governor if elected.
President Donald Trump has endorsed him, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has backed his candidacy to succeed him because of the state's gubernatorial term limits.
In recent weeks, Donalds has expanded his outreach through appearances at historically Black colleges, meetings with Caribbean-American community leaders and endorsements from Black elected officials, pastors and business owners.
He also established a coalition intended to promote his campaign in churches, barbershops and college communities.
At a Florida A&M University forum, Donalds challenged the assumption that Black voters should automatically support Democrats.
"I'm just going to be blunt: Stop moving like a monolith."
Donalds told students, arguing that voters should evaluate whether the Democratic Party had fulfilled its commitments to Black communities.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut, a Gainesville city commissioner and former Democratic state representative who endorsed Donalds, defended voters' independence from party expectations.
"Black voters are not political property." Chestnut said in a statement cited by U.
S. News & World Report.
However, Donalds' outreach faces challenges related to his congressional record and support for Trump's policies.
Critics point to his opposition to voting-rights measures, including legislation named for civil rights leader John Lewis, and his support for eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
At Florida A&M, students also questioned Donalds about immigration, critical race theory, gun safety and state diversity policies.
Bruce Strouble, a political science professor at Florida A&M who attended the meeting, said students became increasingly concerned as the discussion progressed.
"The more he talked the more they realized his ideas will hurt their futures." Strouble said.
Political scientists have also questioned whether Donalds can compensate for weaker support among some white Republican voters by attracting more Black voters.
Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor, said the strategy could produce gains in one group while creating losses in another.
"So the possibility exists that Donalds might do a little better among Black voters but a little worse among white Republican voters."
Jewett said.
U. S.
News & World Report cited Florida campaign finance records showing that Donalds had raised more than $134 million and spent approximately $91 million as of September 25.
Jolly had raised nearly $17 million and spent $11.2 million during the same period, leaving the Democratic campaign with substantially fewer resources for a costly statewide media effort.
The Senate contest between Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon and Republican Sen.
Ashley Moody adds another dimension to the state's political landscape.
Nixon's campaign is focused on issues affecting Black voters, while polling cited by the Orlando Sentinel showed Moody leading Nixon by 10 percentage points overall.
Political observers say Donalds faces a difficult balance between appealing to Black voters and retaining conservative support, while Jolly must sustain his advantage among Black voters and expand his coalition across the state.
Both campaigns continue to organize events and outreach efforts as Election Day approaches on November 3.
