David Jolly — the lone Democrat in the race for Florida governor — vows to end the state's culture war on Day One if elected.

Why it matters: He's a Tampa Bay native and, to some, a déjà vu candidate: another former Republican who became an independent, then revived his political career as a Democrat.

• But don't call him Charlie Crist. "This isn't a campaign chasing the middle," Jolly told Axios in a recent interview. "It's a campaign chasing big ideas and big solutions." We caught up with him to learn more.

What are the first three things you would do in office?

Propose a catastrophic fund for property insurance to remove hurricanes and natural disaster perils from the private market.

• Second, we need generational property tax reform. First-time home buyers don't have access to housing, in part, because of the way we do property taxes in Florida.
• Then, we get rid of the culture wars. And we say this is a state where everybody's welcome, celebrated and lifted up.

Your first challenge is securing the nomination. How will you appeal to the broadest range of Democratic voters, some of whom seem diametrically opposed lately?

If we coalesce around an agenda that addresses the affordability crisis for everyone, delivers quality health care and quality public education and reduces the cost of housing — that's this race.

• I've been all around this state, and let me tell you, the issues Byron Donalds and Ron DeSantis are talking about are distractions.

Florida's Democratic Party is in dire straits. How will you have a fighting chance without much of an apparatus to lean on?

The party's values — an economy that works for everyone, a government that administers services to everyone — are right and must be amplified, not changed.

• We must recognize that the math is real. There aren't enough Democratic voters to elect a Democratic governor on their own. We have to lead with Democratic values, but build a coalition that includes independents and Republicans.

What issues do you believe are most important to Tampa Bay residents? And how do you plan to address them?

We have growth management issues in Tampa Bay and all around the state, where development has gotten ahead of smart growth.

• We see it in Pasco County, where the amount of development is providing a quality of life for families, but we're running out of water, and we're running out of school capacity. That's a real problem.

Keep reading

The weekend is nigh. We've got you covered on Tampa Bay's hottest events.

🤣 Tampa International Fringe Festival: Laugh until your tummy hurts at one (or a few!) of the many shows scheduled during the ninth-annual comedy festival in Ybor City.

• A good one for Father's Day: "Stop Freaking Out: The Denis Phillips Method To Dealing With Weather And Life." Tampa Bay's favorite meteorologist is known for his dad shoes and generally has dad energy (probably because he is an actual dad).
• Anyway, buy tickets for that show here, and peruse the rest of the schedule here. The fest runs through June 22.

👔 Dads Day Market: Two words: cornhole tournament. Compete for tickets to The James Museum, plus dance to live music and indulge in smashburgers from Bellies Street Food.

• 11am-3pm Saturday, WonderWorks in Gulfport.

📚 The Underground Book Fair at the Jack Kerouac House: Shop books, records and art and mingle with local authors at this unique book fair in the St. Petersburg home Kerouac once lived in.

• 1-5pm Saturday. Admission is a suggested $5 donation, which goes to the nonprofit that owns and maintains the home.

🏳️‍🌈 Polk Pride in the Park: Commemorate the 10th anniversary of Polk Pride with a family-friendly celebration with tons of vendors, entertainment and a Pride flag march. 10am-3pm Saturday at Lakeland's Munn Park.

• Those 21 and up can keep the party going with Pride After Dark, featuring Denali from RuPaul's Drag Race, from 9pm-1am at Union Hall. Tickets are $29 general admission or $75 VIP.

Spread the word

Florida child welfare authorities handed over a 17-year-old undocumented foster child to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in potential violation of Department of Children and Families rules. (Miami Herald)

✈️ Silver Airways has ceased all its operations and canceled all its flights. The Florida-based airline had until yesterday offered nonstop flights from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Pensacola. (WFTS)

Twenty-two of the country's top-grossing companies call Florida home — including four in Tampa and St. Petersburg — according to the 2025 Fortune 500 list.

Why it matters: Fortune 500 companies can boost Florida's economy, influence its policy priorities and power job growth.

Florida's top ten ranked companies, by fiscal year 2024 revenue, are:

71. Publix Super Markets (Lakeland): $60.18 billion — up 1 spot from last year

106. World Kinect (Miami): $42.17B — down 13 spots

129. Lennar (Miami): $35.4B — down 3

136. GuideWell Mutual Holding (Jacksonville): $32.9B — no change

148. Jabil (St. Petersburg): $28.9B — down 23 spots

160. AutoNation (Fort Lauderdale): $26.8B — down five spots

172. Carrier Global (Palm Beach Gardens): $24.8B — up 12 spots

173. NextEra Energy (Juno Beach): $24.8B — down 21 spots

203. L3Harris Technologies (Melbourne): $21.3B — up 6 spots

294. Raymond James Financial (St. Petersburg): $14.9B — up 18 spots

Go deeper: Walmart again No. 1

We stumped y'all with this one. Flo was at Ice & Cream Creamery in Treasure Island!

• Shout-out to Tiffany D. for guessing the shop (but not the location — it has multiple on the beaches and in Dunedin).