Florida’s lone Democrat is running for governor.
Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried has announced her 2022 bid for the governor's mansion seat with a message of bringing “something new” to the Sunshine State.
“I’m Nikki Fried and I’m here to break the rigged system in Florida,” she said in a campaign video that launched Tuesday afternoon.
Fried is the only Democrat to win a statewide race in Florida since 2012. In 2018 she was elected to be Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. With that platform, she has been a vocal opponent to Gov. Ron DeSantis and has publicly critiqued him on his response to COVID-19. In April, she criticized a roundtable the governor had which featured a controversial adviser to former President Trump, Dr. Scott Atlas, saying the governor’s “complete lack of steady, responsible leadership” has made the pandemic worse.
Fried also released a statement Tuesday following the governor’s signing of abill that would ban transgender femalesfrom high school or college sports, calling it “heartless.”
“Signing it on the first day of Pride Month is especially cruel,” she said in the statement. “Florida should stand for inclusivity, equality, and liberty – not peddling hate for political points.”
According to her bio, Fried spent her career as a public defender before running for public office. She’s been a longtime advocate for criminal justice reform and legalized marijuana.
“We can end two decades of corruption designed to block your will and your ballot on health care, wages, education, justice, the environment, marijuana, and equality of opportunity,” Fried said in the campaign video.
For more information, visit nikkifried.com.