FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nikki Fried has been dropping completely unsubtle hints about her plans for months. On Tuesday, she made it official, formally declaring her candidacy for Florida governor.
Fried, the state's agriculture commissioner, filed paperwork with the state Division of Elections stating that she intends to raise and spend money as a candidate for the Democratic nomination.
Fried has repeatedly foreshadowed the move.
Four weeks ago, on the day Charlie Crist announced he was running, Fried said “it makes absolute sense for me to be running for governor.” Three weeks ago, she released a video promising “something new” would be coming on June. 1.
As the only statewide elected Democrat, Fried has used her job as state agriculture commissioner as a platform to act as an outspoken critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who she has called an “authoritarian dictator.”
When DeSantis boasted last week on Twitter that Florida schools are open with teacher bonuses and allow prayer and feature the Pledge of Allegiance, Fried responded that “Ron’s record” includes raises for himself and his appointees, vaccines for his political donors, blocking free speech and worsening unemployment, voting rights and the environment.
DeSantis has consistently been dismissive of Fried. He ignores her proposals and criticisms.
Still, DeSantis navigated the news cycle in a way that took away some attention from Fried. On Monday morning, DeSantis signed legislation keeping transgender girls and women from playing girls’ high school and women’s college sports — allowing him to dominate the news cycle and lessening some of the political news attention that otherwise would have gone to Fried.
The Florida Republican Party criticized Fried in a tweet as someone who resisted DeSantis’ efforts to get schools reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. “She is a lockdown lobbyist who can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for Florida families.
The Republican Governors Association, the party organization charged with electing and reelecting GOP chief executives, depicted Fried as a second-rate candidate in a statement Tuesday.
“Instead of using her office to work for the people of Florida, Nikki Fried has spent the last 2 1/2 years working to better herself,” RGA spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said. “Floridians want someone who will fight for them tirelessly, and Fried’s desperate political posturing and reliance on lies and pandering to make a point prove she’s the exact opposite of what Florida needs.”
Fried is the only Democrat to win a statewide election in Florida since 2012, a time frame that saw 11 Republican wins.
It was the first time she sought elective office, and Fried’s victory was extremely narrow — 6,733 votes out of more than 8 million cast. She has never been subjected to the intense scrutiny that comes with running or a high-level office in a major state.
Fried grew up in Miami and lived in Fort Lauderdale before moving to Tallahassee when she became agriculture commissioner.
If elected, Fried would be the state’s first female governor. She could be seen as the state’s first Jewish governor as well. David Sholtz, who served from 1933 to 1937, was an Episcopalian, but both of his parents were Jewish.
Crist served a term as the state’s Republican governor from 2007 to 2011 and, after becoming a Democrat narrowly lost the 2014 race for governor. He’s in his third term as a Democratic member of the U.S. House from St. Petersburg.
The Republican Governors Association said in a statement last week that the Crist-Fried raced would be “a popcorn-worthy primary.” It used the popcorn line again on Tuesday.
The field for the Aug. 23, 2022, Democratic primary isn’t final. State Sen. Annette Taddeo of Miami-Dade County is thinking of running. She was Crist’s lieutenant governor pick during his unsuccessful 2014 campaign for governor.
