Patronis Calls Fried an 'Enemy of Freedom'

If the Democratic Party had any influence on Florida, it's almost all but gone after the 2024 election. This has resulted in Florida growing more red and Democrats across the country deciding to switch parties. Despite this, Democrats like Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried (D) believes that the party is poised for a comeback, arguing that Floridians will be subjected to "authoritarian" control under the Republican Party. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) instead argues that Chair Fried is an "enemy of freedom."

The back and forth between the two began after POLITICO published an article claiming that "Democrats have a Florida problem." Noting that Florida was cemented red and that Democrats are struggling to appeal to voters, the article argues that "voters were deeply concerned about immigration, inflation and the economy."

Responding to the article, Florida Senator Rick Scott (R), who won his reelection bid against former Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), attributed the significant GOP win to a rejection of socialism.

On social media, Senator Scott posited that "Florida is RED and is the best example of what happens when government gets out of the way so families can thrive."

Chair Fried quickly responded to the claim, saying that Democrats and Republicans can agree that "no one wants socialism, everyone wants less Government." However, she accused Senator Scott of "lying & cheating," adding that the GOP "has been enacting more laws and more regulations, stripping freedoms and acting like authoritarian thugs."

This in turn drew a response from Patronis, who's currently seeking the House seat that former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) vacated earlier this year.

On social media, Patronis questioned, "so, Nikki Fried wanted to open the border and allow drugs and killers to flow in our country and now we are supposed to believe she is concerned about freedom?" "What a joke."

"We can only be free when we are safe and the leader of the party allowing murders to stream into the US (sometimes via federally funded flights) is an enemy of freedom indeed," he added.