Jerry Demings, David Jolly competitive with Byron Donalds in hypothetical Governor’s races

A new survey from Echelon Insights is giving Democrats more hope for November.

The survey shows that either potential Democratic nominee for Governor could run a close race against Republican front-runner Byron Donalds.

Donalds, a Naples Congressman endorsed by President Donald Trump, leads David Jolly 49% to 43% in the survey of 406 voters taken April 3-9. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is marginally more competitive, as Donalds leads him 48% to 44%.

The margin of error is +/- 6 percentage points.

Donalds does have an advantage among people who say they will “definitely” vote for a particular candidate. Against either Jolly or Demings, 33% of respondents are all-in on the Republican choice, while 26% say they definitely back Demings and 23% say the same about Jolly.

Whichever Democrat prevails in August, he would face a resource disadvantage if Donalds earns the Republican nod.

Throughout the first quarter of 2026 and a short portion of April, Jolly’s campaign raised $2 million. Jolly has now raised $5 million total since he entered the race in June.

Demings raised about $254,000 during Q1, in addition to approximately $75,000 to his political committee Moving Florida Forward, campaign finance reports show.

Donalds has raised more than $67 million for his race, including more than $22 million in the first quarter. Other Republican candidates are reporting more modest totals.

While Demings has raised almost $660,000 total between his two accounts, he’s having to spend heavily as well, with roughly $310,000 in expenditures through March 31, giving him about $350,000 on hand.

Jolly is also spending aggressively, but has about $1 million in his campaign account and roughly $820,000 in his Florida 2026 political committee.