Florida Gubernatorial Candidates Clash at Sunshine Economy Summit

Gubernatorial candidates Byron Donalds and David Jolly appeared together on September 23 at the WLRN Sunshine Economy Summit in Fort Lauderdale. The event focused on property insurance, taxes, and housing affordability, serving as a rare joint appearance after Jolly announced on September 20 that he would not participate in a formal debate before the November 3 election. Jolly cited Donalds' use of falsehoods as the reason for his decision, ensuring Florida will have no gubernatorial debate for the first time in 50 years.

During the summit, Jolly proposed a state-backed fund to absorb wind insurance coverage to reduce premiums and called for a one-year moratorium on new data centers. Donalds countered by emphasizing Florida's appeal for in-migration and credited the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 for producing record-high tax refunds.

Fact-checks following the event indicated that Texas has surpassed Florida in net in-migration and suggested that Jolly's projected insurance savings may be overstated.