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Republican

Jay Collins

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Republican

Jay Collins

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Florida Republican Governor nominee?

$11.3M

AUG 19, 2026

Primary Election

Party selects its nominee.

Overview

Current roleFormer State Senator

PartyRepublican

Political ideologyConservative Republican

Age50 years old (Apr 28, 1976)

GenderMale

LocationFlorida

BackgroundLieutenant Governor of Florida

Notable personal detailsJarrid “Jay” Collins is an American politician and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who has served as Florida’s 21st lieutenant governor since 2025. He previously served in the Florida Senate representing District 14 (Tampa/Hillsborough area), first elected in 2022. A career Army Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient, he later entered state politics and announced a run for governor in 2026.

SourcesShow

flgov.com apnews.com dos.elections.myflorida.com en.wikipedia.org wikidata.org es.wikipedia.org flsenate.gov axios.com wusf.org inkl.com cubaheadlines.com senatordb.com baynews9.com miamiherald.com factually.co congressweb.com racca-florida.org news4jax.com newspressnow.com jayforflorida.com clickorlando.com floridaphoenix.com floridianpress.com lifesitenews.com cltampa.com floridapolitics.com wcjb.com guns.com flvoicenews.com wptv.com politico.com florianidpress.com navarrepress.com facebook.com miamitimesonline.com wlrn.org pnj.com wctv.tv nbcmiami.com wflx.com tallahassee.com fec.gov justfacts.votesmart.org ballotready.org senate.gov collins.senate.gov appropriations.senate.gov history.house.gov congress.gov capito.senate.gov

Positions

LiberalConservative

Economy & Taxes

Jay Collins supports tax relief and pro-business tax changes, emphasizing property tax relief and measures intended to lower taxes for businesses. He has defended proposals to eliminate or reduce property taxes and highlighted the importance of improving Florida’s business climate and economy.

Healthcare

Jay Collins has highlighted parental rights, vaccine transparency/choice, and related public-health messaging in his public role as Florida lieutenant governor and on the campaign trail, but I did not find clear policy statements on major healthcare-system proposals (e.g., Medicaid expansion, ACA, Medicare for All, or specific market-based reforms).

Immigration & Border

Jay Collins supports aggressive immigration enforcement and coordinated state-federal operations to identify, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants. He has traveled to assist in extradition of an undocumented truck driver and has promoted and participated in large-scale enforcement operations that led to hundreds of deportations. Collins has pledged to continue building on Governor DeSantis’s enforcement-focused immigration agenda in office and in campaign activity.

Abortion & Reproductive Rights

Jay Collins describes himself as pro-life, has opposed Florida Amendment 4 which would have enshrined broad abortion rights, and has supported Florida’s heartbeat/6‑week restrictions while backing pro-life policies. His public statements emphasize restricting abortion access and protecting unborn children.

Climate & Energy

Jay Collins sponsored legislation that removes references to greenhouse gas reduction from state energy law, bans certain offshore wind development, advances protections for natural gas appliances, and prioritizes grid reliability and expanded use of nuclear and hydrogen technologies. His legislative actions emphasize protecting fossil-fuel infrastructure and limiting wind development while studying advanced nuclear and hydrogen options.

Public Safety & Guns

Jay Collins has sponsored and publicly promoted legislation that removes concealed-carry permitting requirements (permitless or “constitutional” carry) and has backed efforts to lower the minimum firearm purchase age to 18. He frames these actions as restoring Second Amendment rights and has supported rollbacks of post-Parkland gun restrictions while emphasizing support for law enforcement and public safety measures paired with those changes.

Polls

Florida Republican Governor nominee?

Polling Average

50%40%30%20%10%0%

7.3%

40.9%

18.9%

J. Collins

B. Donalds

C. DeSantis

P. Renner

W. Simpson

C. Burkett

Date (Start - End)	Spread	Collins	Donalds	DeSantis	Renner	Simpson	Burkett
Polling Average	Donalds+33.6	7.3%	40.9%	18.9%	4.1%	3.0%	0.4%
The Political Matrix/The Listener GroupJul 21 - 23	Donalds+30.0	2.2%	32.2%	–	18.8%	–	–
Fabrizio, Lee & AssociatesJul 14 - 16	Donalds+43.0	10.0%	53.0%	–	4.0%	–	–
CygnalJul 12 - 13	Donalds+32.1	11.1%	43.2%	–	2.3%	–	–
Change ResearchJul 9 - 11	Donalds+23.0	14.0%	37.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
The Tyson GroupJul 8 - 11	Donalds+39.0	9.0%	48.0%	–	4.0%	–	–
David Jay WolfsonJul 2 - 6	Donalds+17.3	20.2%	37.5%	–	2.1%	–	–
The Public Sentiment InstituteJun 29 - 30	Donalds+20.1	12.2%	32.3%	–	6.7%	–	–
The Public Sentiment InstituteJun 8 - 9	Donalds+26.3	11.0%	37.3%	–	3.9%	–	–
Associated Industries of FloridaJun 3 - 7	Donalds+49.0	5.0%	54.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
The Political Matrix/The Listener GroupMay 31 - Jun 3	Donalds+18.0	11.0%	29.0%	–	14.0%	–	–
Change ResearchMay 13 - 16	Donalds+40.0	8.0%	48.0%	–	3.0%	–	–
Change ResearchMay 13 - 16	Donalds+37.0	8.0%	45.0%	–	3.0%	–	–
Fabrizio, Lee & AssociatesApr 26 - 30	Donalds+47.0	7.0%	54.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
Stetson University Center for Public Opinion ResearchMar 25 - Apr 13	Donalds+32.0	6.0%	38.0%	–	7.0%	–	–
Tarrance GroupMar 30 - Apr 2	Donalds+44.0	6.0%	50.0%	–	3.0%	–	–
Emerson CollegeMar 29 - 31	Donalds+39.2	4.3%	43.5%	6.7%	2.0%	–	0.5%
Emerson CollegeMar 29 - 31	Donalds+42.3	4.1%	46.4%	–	2.7%	–	0.3%
The American PromiseFeb 23 - 26	Donalds+40.0	4.0%	44.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
University of North Florida Public Opinion Research LabFeb 16 - 20	Donalds+25.0	3.0%	28.0%	24.0%	0.0%	–	–
University of North Florida Public Opinion Research LabFeb 16 - 20	Donalds+27.0	4.0%	31.0%	–	1.0%	–	–
Targoz Market ResearchFeb 13 - 16	Donalds+18.0	15.0%	33.0%	–	9.0%	–	–
Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyJan 8 - 13	Donalds+30.0	7.0%	37.0%	–	4.0%	–	–
Fabrizio, Lee & AssociatesJan 4 - 6	Donalds+39.0	6.0%	45.0%	–	3.0%	–	–
Public Opinion StrategiesDec 7 - 11	Donalds+27.0	13.0%	40.0%	–	–	–	–
The American PromiseDec 8 - 9	Donalds+29.0	9.0%	38.0%	–	1.0%	–	–
The American PromiseNov 17 - 19	Donalds+42.0	1.0%	43.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
Victory InsightsNov 11 - 13	Donalds+43.8	1.2%	45.0%	–	2.7%	–	–
St. Pete PollsOct 13 - 15	Donalds+35.5	3.7%	39.2%	–	2.7%	–	–
St. Pete PollsOct 13 - 15	Donalds+40.6	11.5%	52.1%	–	–	–	–
Targoz Market ResearchSep 16 - 18	DeSantis+24.0	2.0%	23.0%	26.0%	7.0%	2.0%	–
The Tyson GroupSep 4 - 5	Donalds+38.0	2.0%	40.0%	–	2.0%	–	–
St. Pete PollsJul 8 - 10	Donalds+41.5	2.1%	43.6%	–	2.9%	4.1%	–

Aggregation source: FiftyPlusOne

Fundraising

Latest report: Cycle 2026

Total raisedCash on hand

$2.6M

$2.0M

$1.3M

$652.5K

2026

Latest

Year

Total raised

Cash on hand

Total spent

Burn rate

Cycle 2026

$2.6M

$1.5M

$1.1M

$61.1K

Source: FEC

New updates coming soon

We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.

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