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TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s 2026 governor’s race has produced plenty of political sparring, but apparently not an actual debate.
Republican nominee Byron Donalds and Democratic nominee David Jolly spent the past week trading accusations over who was responsible for derailing proposed debates. Donalds announced that his campaign had agreed to three debate opportunities, while Jolly’s campaign said it had already accepted other invitations and objected to Donalds announcing debate arrangements without first reaching an agreement with Jolly’s team.
On Sunday, Jolly ended the dispute by saying he would not participate in any general-election debates with Donalds, arguing that the campaign environment and what he described as Donalds' “bad faith” made debates unproductive. Donalds responded that Jolly was avoiding a face-to-face contest.
The result: Florida voters may not see the two major-party gubernatorial nominees share a debate stage at all.
If that holds, it would mark the first Florida governor’s race without a general-election debate since 1974.
For a state facing major questions over insurance, housing, immigration and the cost of living, the candidates will instead have to make their cases through campaign events, advertising and media appearances—without the traditional back-and-forth of a televised debate.
