David Jolly built his political career as a conservative Republican congressman, shaped by the values of his Baptist preacher father. Now, as the sole Democratic gubernatorial candidate, he is asking churches to stop relying on politics to defend their faith. “I’m the son of a preacher,” says Jolly at Tiger Bay Club Aug. 25, “but my faith stops at the courthouse door.” His larger message to the church is clear: “throw away the crutch. Stop rushing to politics to defend your faith – it dilutes the faith.”
Jolly’s message is a significant reversal from his early career convictions. When he began his career as a Republican congressman, he espoused quintessential conservative values: a strong pro-life stance, traditional family structures and traditional marriage between men and women. While he still describes himself as a “man of deep faith,” Jolly has shifted his stance on these subjects.
In 2014, then-Congressman Jolly announced his support for same-sex marriage, causing many to brand him a betrayer of core Christian values. “We were told not to come to certain churches due to our support of equal marriage,” recalls Jolly.
That same year, the Tampa Bay Times reported that he received a scathing letter from Florida Family Policy Council (now Florida Family Voice), a Christian advocacy group: “Please know that we consider your reversal on this critical issue to be an act of cowardice and a betrayal to the very persons that worked extremely hard to get you elected to office.”
Today, Jolly continues to defend his change in stance on same-sex marriage: “The sanctity of marriage isn’t defined by the courthouse but by faith and community.” While the Supreme Court ratified the decision on same-sex marriage in 2015, faith-based advocacy in Florida merely shifted battlegrounds.
Bans on books, restrictions on street art, the rescission of Roe v. Wade, vaccine mandate exemptions (and now potential elimination) have been criticized as pretexts for imposing hegemonic Christian values – in the guise of safety and personal liberty – as State law. These fights have fueled the broader “culture war” that continues to dominate Florida politics.
Jolly has expressed dissatisfaction with the GOP’s obsession and expenditure on that “culture war.” He vows to “end the culture war on day one.” It is a difficult task considering the massive Republican voter registration gains across Florida, and GOP wins in historically Democratic strongholds.
For Jolly, though, the message is as much about faith as it is about politics. He is asking voters – and especially the church – to consider whether turning religion into a political weapon has ultimately weakened both.