Race for governor rolls through Polk County

Eve of the midterm elections, the race for Florida governor is running through Polk County, which has become a major focal point for both campaigns. Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly spent part of their day there trying to turn out voters and reach those who remain undecided. As Fox 13's Evan Axelbank reports, polls show them locked in a tight race to the point where counties without big cities are playing key roles. Byron Donalds was in Polk County campaigning today because Republicans badly need solid turnout here in order to win the election. So far, they haven't gotten it. Donalds campaigned at a B4 Brady's in Lakeland with other members of the top of the ticket. Over the weekend, the current governor, Ron DeSantis, pointed out that turnout in Polk County is deadlocked and that in 2022, the GOP won the county by more than 30 points. Donald's has campaigned on keeping Florida on its current trajectory, insisting that David Jolly is too liberal. Jolly campaigned at a church in Haines City where he said voters are fed up with the politics of division and high prices caused by the war in Iran. Jolly's campaign insists that it's their race to lose, pointing out that 49% of Democrats have voted so far versus 38% of Republicans. Because Republicans have more overall voters, they still cast about 132,000 more votes, though Jolly insists that there are Republicans who have chosen him over their own party's nominee. Here's why he's focused on Polk County. We always knew there would be A disaffected Republican like me, right, maybe they still are in the party, but I say I'm an old school Bush 41 Republican who left the party. Those disaffected Republicans have always been available to us, but two other disaffecteds have emerged. There's a disaffected MAGA right now, a local commissioner here, Republican said, I thought I was part of a movement, it turned out I was just being used. David Jolly is a failed Republican who lost to a failed Republican 10 years ago in Charlie Crist. This is somebody who has an ax to grind, not somebody with a vision for our future. Polls in recent days have showed that both Byron Donalds and David Jolly are in the margin of error. Donalds' election night watch party is going to be in Fort Lauderdale, while David Jolly's will be in Tampa. Tomorrow night, we'll know which one gets to be called governor. Evan Axelbank, Fox 13 News.