Florida's two major gubernatorial candidates swept through South Florida this week, making their closing pitches to voters with Election Day just over two weeks out. Republican Byron Donalds rallied Cuban exile voters in Little Havana, while Democrat David Jolly courted Black churchgoers and campaigned in Deerfield Beach, each candidate sharpening a distinct message as the Nov. 3 vote nears.
Donalds appeared Friday morning at the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood alongside his running mate, Bryan Ávila, according to WSVN. The setting was no accident — the station reports that the Republican candidate spoke directly to Miami's Cuban exile community as he made his opposition to communism clear, part of a broader message built around affordability, immigration and law and order.
Jolly, meanwhile, spent time with pastors from nearly a dozen churches and Black voters across the state as part of a Florida East Coast Baptist Association meeting, the station notes. He also made a stop in Deerfield Beach, where he laid out the pillars of his campaign in blunt terms: housing, healthcare, education and opposing data centers, which he called the core of his bid for governor.
Two Very Different Closing Pitches
Where Donalds leaned into anti-communist rhetoric and law-and-order themes tailored to South Florida's Cuban exile community, Jolly framed his candidacy as a bridge-building effort. Per the same account, he said he's trying to focus on improving lives for the most number of people, a message aimed at pulling in voters across the political spectrum rather than rallying a single base.
The dueling stops came as the campaign trail brought both candidates to South Florida just over two weeks before Election Day, with voters set to cast ballots for governor on Nov. 3. The timing reflects a final sprint by both camps to lock down undecided voters in a region that could prove decisive. The CBS News Miami video report captured both candidates on the ground in South Florida as they worked to sway voters ahead of the midterm election.
Clinton Set to Join Jolly's Push
Jolly's campaign is set to get a high-profile boost next week, with former President Bill Clinton scheduled to join him on the campaign trail in South Florida, the station reports. Donalds and Jolly are both trying to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to NBC6, making this an open-seat race with no incumbent on the ballot.
Polling Shows Donalds With an Edge
A Mason-Dixon poll conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 found Donalds holding a 48% to 41% lead over Jolly among likely voters, the outlet reports. The survey polled 625 randomly selected registered Florida voters who said they planned to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. An additional 1% of respondents backed an independent candidate, while 10% remained undecided, leaving both campaigns with real incentive to keep crisscrossing the state's most populous region in the campaign's final stretch.
