The race to become Florida's next governor has begun — with the election just a year away.
According to The Associated Press, almost 30 candidates have filed to run for the seat currently held by Gov. Ron DeSantis, but most are considered long shots.
The four prominent contenders: former Republican congressman David Jolly — who is now running as a Democrat; Republican former House speaker Paul Renner; Orange County Democratic Mayor Jerry Demings; and Republican U.S. Rep Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
"The Florida Roundup" sent invitations to all four to speak about their candidacy. Host Tom Hudson spoke with Jolly and Renner separately this past week.
Here are the highlights of those discussions:
Property tax reform
One of DeSantis' priorities is to have voters decide on a constitutional amendment in 2026 to reduce or even potentially eliminate some property taxes.
When asked whether he supports these efforts, Jolly — from Pinellas County — said he would as long as the math works and that critical services are still paid for.
"So let's see what Republicans ultimately put in front of voters. And I say this to my Democratic friends, and I would ask my Republican state friends to consider the same thing: We shouldn't reflexively oppose any idea that the other side of the aisle comes up with, but we should demand that it makes sense," Jolly stated.
Jolly added he thinks Florida needs generational property tax relief for first-time home buyers.
"How do we give homestead exemption or additional relief to first-time homebuyers? We should have property tax relief," Jolly said. "My fear is Republicans are willing to starve critically needed services in the name of tax relief. And the truth is, we need the math to work."
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Renner said he supports reducing property taxes but that DeSantis hasn't revealed a proposal or plan yet.
He mentioned that the issue needs to be discussed in two phases.
"Because if we have a larger reform of eliminating, let's say, homestead property taxes, that would get on the ballot end of next year, wouldn't be effective until 2027 and possibly the end of 2027 when property tax bills go out," Renner said.
He added that people need some relief right now, so the first step for him would be "material relief" that can be done by the legislature this upcoming session.
When asked if he supports a full repeal of traditional homestead property tax, Renner said he's going to propose a plan. He added that the governor is also expected to come out with a plan. Whatever is passed by the legislature could then go before voters.
"If it doesn't pass, when I'm governor I will certainly give voters an opportunity to find a different mechanism to fund public safety, first responders, schools, our infrastructure — those core functions of government," Renner said.
Property insurance
Jolly said that in Florida, there is no affordable way to cover natural disaster risks and hurricanes when it comes to homeowners.
"The property insurance market in Florida, homeowners insurance has collapsed and it's not coming back," Jolly said. "I think the private market has collapsed and is not capable of providing affordable homeowners' insurance."
Jolly wants to change the existing catastrophic fund in Florida to fully remove natural disaster perils. He said we have about $8 billion in a hurricane fund that started about 20 years ago.
"If we can build that north of $30 billion, we essentially create a sovereign wealth fund in the state of Florida that invests in out-of-state assets, takes out reinsurance on the world market, but can fully cover homeowners' losses due to hurricanes. It ultimately reduces your insurance by 60 or 70%," Jolly said. "How we fund it? My Republican friends call it socialism. I just call it cheaper insurance."
For Renner, he said he'd continue to lean into property insurance reform as he did when he was speaker of the house from 2022-2024. He believes there's been improvement.
"We focused on the mission, and we focused on consumers and to make sure we're holding both insurers accountable, as well as getting rid of some of the litigation gamesmanship, the litigation abuse, and it's working," Renner said. "So we see homeowners stabilizing. We see auto insurance, another component of affordability, is going down in Florida."
Renner said there's still more to do, adding that there's a need to continue to invest in home hardening.
"Another thing we need to do to make sure that people that maybe don't have means. We have a partnership with the state up to $10,000 to get new windows, roof, tie downs — things of that nature," he said.
Government shutdown
Florida Democratic lawmakers recently sent a letter to DeSantis to ask him to declare a state of emergency over the ongoing federal government shutdown. A big component of this has been the reduction in SNAP food subsidies.
Jolly said he does believe Florida is in a state of emergency and that his Democratic colleagues in Tallahassee are doing the right thing.
He supports expending state government resources during the shutdown. He said it's worth considering whether to spend direct state resources on ensuring healthcare is available in communities, specifically "rural health care deserts."
"This isn't left versus right. It's just right versus wrong. This race is a contrast of values and a view of government in our lives, and people across Florida are screaming for change," Jolly said.
Renner said the obvious and easy fix would be to simply fund the government, and that this is all a "failure of political leadership."
"And it's very disappointing that politicians in D.C. — and the blame can go around to both Republicans and Democrats over the years — just can't seem to function," Renner said. "I'm very disappointed in Congress not being able to deliver a budget that takes care of people that are in a very, very legitimate need."
He called the situation "unconscionable." And that there needs to be a point where two parties can agree on basic things, rather than holding vulnerable groups hostage.
Renner on no vaccine mandates
The former House Speaker recently announced a Florida Health Freedom and Wellness Initiative, which includes ending medical mandates for vaccines.
Renner said he doesn't believe in mandates and there should be no vaccine requirements to attend Florida's public schools.
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"I want a parent and a pediatrician to have that conversation and make a decision, and I think you'll see when that happens, much like the countries in Europe that don't have mandates, many people will get the vaccine," Renner said.
He added that his family has gotten vaccinations, but that he wants to give people personal control over those decisions.
Jolly talks 'affordability crisis in Florida'
Jolly said he views this election cycle to be about change versus "more of the same."
"I say this respectfully to my Republican friends and leadership in Tallahassee; they have contributed or created the affordability crisis in Florida," he said.
He accused Republicans of making access to housing too expensive too expensive saying they'll not pursue what it'll take to reduce insurance costs and reduce rent, among other issues.
"Are we going to be a state that tackles the urgent affordability crisis or not? I think my Republican friends have had their shot. I think we need Democratic leadership," Jolly said.
He said there needs to be a study on what the state's economy looks like over the next 20 years and what that means on the revenue side. He said the main economic drivers are tourism, agriculture and construction.
"I think there's an opportunity to continue economic growth while also evaluating where our revenue comes from," Jolly said.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for "The Florida Roundup."
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