David Jolly, Democratic candidate for governor of Florida, expressed on Thursday in Miami that he hopes for the fall of the Cuban regime, and he trusts Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure that this moment arrives with a clear strategy.
The 53-year-old former congressman expressed his hope in the role Rubio can play, while also showing his disagreement with Donald Trump's administration.
"I sincerely hope that Marco Rubio succeeds in what could be his most glorious hour by witnessing Cuba and the Cuban people become free. I am concerned that this president does not fully understand what he is doing at this moment," he told the agency EFE.
His concern is not whether the regime will fall, but how that process will unfold. To illustrate this, he referred to the Venezuelan precedent.
«I hope Cuba falls. I don't trust this president's foreign policy. If we look at what happened in Venezuela, we saw the regime change, but then we gave our approval to its successor, to Delcy, and we simply started reaping profits from oil. I'm not sure that anything has really changed,» he stated.
The candidate fears that the Trump administration will pursue a regime change in Cuba without a solid plan for the post-transition phase, and warned that "in Cuba there is no Delcy Rodríguez" backed by Washington who can take control in an orderly manner.
His hope, he said, is that the Secretary of State will be able to advise Trump properly. "Maybe this will be Rubio's shining moment."
"I sincerely hope that Marco Rubio succeeds in what could be his most glorious hour by seeing Cuba and the Cuban people become free. I am concerned that this president does not fully understand what he is doing at this moment," he insisted.
The statements were made during his first public event in Miami after winning the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday with 61% of the votes, an event organized by Miami's Community News at the restaurant Casa Cuba.
Jolly also referred to the Senate candidacy of Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), who also won her primary on Tuesday.
Nixon's presence on the Democratic ballot complicates the electoral strategy in a state where the word "socialism" generates immediate backlash among the Cuban-American electorate.
Jolly did not shy away from the topic: "I reject socialism. I reject the DSA. I am a capitalist, and I believe that the greatest amount of economic opportunities comes from freedom. And I understand that. Look, I am someone who was a Republican, and if Cuba is part of your heritage, I believe the Cuban regime must fall."
The former congressman, who represented Florida's 13th district from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican, left the party in 2018 due to his criticisms of Trump's first term and formally registered as a Democrat in April 2025.
Now he will face off in November against Republican Byron Donalds, the congressman from Naples backed by Trump, in a race that will determine if Florida can have its first Democratic governor since 1999.
Jolly expressed optimism about this historic challenge: "If the elections were tonight, Florida would elect a Democratic governor. Voters have shown us that they are ready to choose a Democratic governor, and I believe we will win in November."
Among their main proposals are expanding access to housing, healthcare, and education, an immediate ban on artificial intelligence data centers, a legal pathway for immigrants, and eliminating the requirement for local police agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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