Over the weekend, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) shared a graphic showing her gubernatorial candidacy superseding her Democratic opponents in popularity among voters in the primary race. From suing the Biden administration over a federal requirement to criticizing the DeSantis administration over its feud with Disney, Fried vowed that her campaign will “Make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor.”
The image shared on Instagram showed findings from a PPP poll of likely voters in the Democratic primary. Showing Fried, the lone statewide elected Democrat, with +35 and Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D) with +28, state Senator Annette Taddeo (D) trailed behind both with +3.
Taking advantage of this momentum, the gubernatorial hopeful took part in a Fox News interview, making her case to conservative voters and decrying Governor DeSantis’ recent move to dissolve Disney’s ability to self-govern.
Fried has been a vocal critic of DeSantis, and she attributed DeSantis decision against Disney as little more than “revenge.”
“This was done as a knee-jerk reaction to teach Disney to stay in your place,” she expressed, adding that “otherwise, we’re going to come and harm.”
Of the decision, Fried said that “if you dare cross this Governor, there is revenge to be paid,” expressing that “it was done for the sole purpose of taking revenge against somebody who dares speak up against the Governor and his agenda.”
Fried also commented on affordability in Florida, which is an issue that Crist also addressed over the weekend, saying that he wanted to make "Florida affordable again.”
The PPP poll graphic comes as Rep. Charlie Crist appears to be emerging as the front-runner in the primary race. However, although the Fried campaign has trailed in polling in the past, Fried affirmed over the weekend that the important thing is to "win Florida" in 2022 just like she won her Agricultural Commissioner post in 2018.
If we don’t win the general, none of this matters. Let’s win Florida.
Just like I did in 2018.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) May 1, 2022
