Tag: Renee Joslyn

For those who complain that politics is too political, two former Florida congressmen are floating an unprecedented antidote: A bipartisan ticket for governor. Patrick Murphy would enter the Democratic primary and if he won the nomination, would name as his running mate David Jolly, a Pinellas County Republican who has become a fixture on national news shows for his opposition to President Donald Trump. "I have to admit, it's intriguing," said Renee Joslyn, a 61-year-old registered Democrat from Miami, who received a call Monday from a pollster asking about Murphy and Jolly and the political climate in Tallahassee. "I'm old enough to remember when it wasn't as ugly as it is now." And Murphy, who has some statewide name recognition after challenging Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016, cautioned that the idea is in its infancy. Supporters asked for polling, he said, and he agreed to test the air. Jolly lost his House seat in 2016 to Democrat Charlie Crist. The centrist former lawmakers have for the past year been on a national speaking tour focused on the dysfunction of Washington and how it can be resolved through de-emphasizing money in elections and fixing the way congressional maps are drawn to maximize partisan advantage. "You have to recognize that Donald Trump tapped into anger, but I don't think his approach has been one that has healed that anger or has bridged the divide," Jolly said. I think that we're speaking to what nobody else is, the ability to work together in a bipartisan way."