Donalds rips opponent’s ‘complete 180’ as Dem’s own 2016 words come back to haunt him in tightening gov race

By Fox News · Fox News

Republican congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds is taking aim at his Democratic opponent David Jolly over his shifting political positions and party affiliation, in a contest that is resurfacing themes from the 2016 congressional race between Jolly and Charlie Crist. "You were pro-choice, then you were pro-life, then you were pro-choice. It was only after you switched parties that you switched your position. This was not a matter of conviction for you; it was for political convenience," Jolly said about Charlie Crist when Jolly was a Republican running against Crist, a Democrat, for Congress in 2016. Ten years later, Jolly is now a Democrat running for Florida governor and facing the same criticism for allegedly changing his positions for political gain, this time, in his race for governor against Donalds. "The shift in positions by David Jolly is not because of personal conviction, it is purely because of political convenience," Donalds told Fox News Digital, referencing that 2016 exchange. DESANTIS ENDORSES FLORIDA GOP SLATE INCLUDING BYRON DONALDS IN GOVERNOR'S RACE Some of the shifts in Jolly’s positions include issues like abortion, immigration, and drilling off the coast of Florida. As a Republican, Jolly said he believed "life begins at conception," authored legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and co-sponsored fetal-personhood legislation. He also voted for a federal 20-week abortion ban. Now running as a Democrat, Jolly calls himself "pro-choice," supports codifying the Roe v. Wade framework and says he would veto legislation restricting abortion access as governor. Jolly’s immigration views have also shifted sharply as he attempts to run for governor in a state that voted for Trump each of the last three presidential cycles by wide margins, with many voters motivated by Trump’s immigration policies. As a Republican, he campaigned on securing the border, supported tighter screening for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and voted for th…