Governor Candidate Castillo-Bach Challenges Jolly to a Battle of Ideas Conversation on Florida's Future

Castillo-Bach calls for open conversation about Florida's future: questions why Jolly announced a running mate and policy advisor 2 months before voters decide.

PEMBROKE PINES, FL, UNITED STATES, June 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Evelyn Castillo-Bach, a long-time Independent voter running as a Democrat for Governor of Florida, has called on Democratic candidate David Jolly to engage in a one-on-one, open conversation on the state's future by July 15, exactly five days before the July 20 deadline for voters to register or switch parties ahead of the August 18 primary. The conversation would be live-streamed, with no moderators and no audience, allowing Floridians to observe and decide for themselves which vision best serves them.

Jolly recently introduced his running mate, former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, and named State Senator Tina Polsky as his campaign's head adviser for public policy. Castillo-Bach believes the next step is open dialogue. With Republican candidates refusing debates, she insists Democrats must avoid any appearance of shutting out the voters. "Let's ensure voters get an unscripted comparison of ideas," she said.

Castillo-Bach, who has been an Independent voter for most of her adult life, is running as a Democrat. She has built her campaign on three pillars: Health, Home, Freedom. Her motto, "People First, Not Politics," reflects a belief that Florida's challenges — from the insurance crisis and housing affordability to healthcare access and criminal justice reform — demand solutions rooted in lived experience, not party playbook.

"My father was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party back in the day, when it was distinguishable from the Republican Party," Castillo-Bach said. "I respect that base — the teachers, nurses, firefighters, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, the small business owners, the family farmers, the young professionals, the unemployed, the underemployed, all laborers and everyone trying to make ends meet. That is who I am running for. Not the party elite. Not the insiders who think they can handpick a nominee before the voters have spoken."

She is proposing something simple: the two of them, over a cup of coffee, talking openly about Florida's future. Media invited, cameras rolling, no moderators, no scripted questions — just two candidates and the ideas that will shape this state. "Not in a backroom. Not in a press conference where the outcome is already assumed. In the open, where the people are the judges," Castillo-Bach said.

The call for an open exchange comes as Republican candidates have refused to debate their primary opponents — a move Governor Ron DeSantis himself once called undemocratic. Castillo-Bach says the Democratic Party must not follow that path. "It would be a huge mistake for the Florida Democratic Party to duplicate that pattern. We should not hide from an honest conversation or pretend the primary is already over. If we repeat the Byron Donalds pattern — hiding from debate, acting like the nomination is a foregone conclusion — we betray the very voters we claim to serve."

Castillo-Bach's campaign emphasizes clear, actionable proposals. These include raising starting pay for Florida correctional officers to $40 an hour and up based on experience. She also calls for reducing mandatory minimum prison sentences from 85% to 50% — a change that would incentivize rehabilitation and reward good behavior, while also reducing costs to Florida taxpayers by ending the practice of warehousing people who have shown they are ready to rebuild their lives and contribute to society. Additionally, she proposes a total ban on medical debt. She has announced that she would prohibit NDAs for AI hyperscale data centers because communities have a right to know what is being built before agreements are made. She has also called for aggressive investment in affordable housing through mandatory fees on AI hyperscale data center development, requiring Big Tech corporations to contribute to a Florida Affordable Housing Fund that she would establish. Additionally, she would require them to pay their own way for water, electricity, sewage and environmental remediation, with no cost to Floridians or to the federal budget.

"These companies make billions, and the communities in which they are built deserve to benefit from that development and those profits, not bear the burden," Castillo-Bach said. "My policy perspectives are born from my entire adult life thinking independently, evaluating ideas on merit, not on party labels. My grassroots campaign is focused on ordinary people. I listen to Mr. Jolly and frankly, I am confused by what, or whom, he represents. Floridians deserve to experience both perspectives in a live, unscripted and unfiltered conversation. They deserve to know who will fight for them when no one is watching — and they deserve to cast their vote before anyone starts measuring the drapes."

"The August 18 primary allows me to fight for you," Castillo-Bach said. "But the power to choose belongs to you. Let the battle of ideas happen openly, over coffee, for all to see."

About Evelyn Castillo-Bach
Evelyn Castillo-Bach, a long-time Independent voter, is running as a Democrat for Governor of Florida in 2026.
She currently serves as the Executive Director of Balanced Justice Network

Paid for by Evelyn Castillo-Bach, Democrat, for Governor

Evelyn Castillo-Bach Campaign For Governor of Florida 2026
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