With the Democratic gubernatorial primary race set between Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) and Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D), both lawmakers continue to amass support and engage voters. This week, Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) endorses Crist while Fried took to social media to make a distinction between her and her rival.
In making the endorsement, Guillermo Smith shared that he was “proud” of endorsing “Crist.”
Guillermo Smith argued that Crist is the candidate that will “lead our state forward and bring back decency to the governor’s office.”
“At Team Carlos, we put people over politics, are champions of equality and working people, and we stand up to special interests and corporations – and that’s exactly what Charlie stands for,” said Guillermo Smith.
In response to the endorsements, Crist shared that he was “incredibly thankful,” calling Rep. Guillermo Smith “an inspiration and a champion for Florida’s LGBTQ+ community, and for everyone he represents.”
“His endorsement is a reflection of our campaign’s promise to always put the people first as we build a Florida where everyone has their voices heard,” added Crist.
Crist has received significant support from Florida Democrats with recent endorsements including Florida state Senator Annette Taddeo (D) and Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D). Similarly, this week marked Fried receiving the endorsement of Fred Gutenberg, an activist who tragically lost his daughter in the Stoneman Douglas shooting.
Both in interviews and through social media, Fried has criticized Crist, commenting on his past with abortions views, the NRA, and this week she shared tweets further criticizing both him and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
Fried campaign sounding off about the fact that Crist showed up with a notebook at Palm Beach County Democratic forum https://t.co/W8eMKexhiw
— Gary Fineout (@fineout) June 16, 2022
.@NikkiFried says @RonDeSantisFL & predecessor @ScottforFlorida spent so much time encouraging people to move to Florida they stopped paying attention to people who already live here.
— Anthony Man (@browardpolitics) June 15, 2022
Assuring voters that "it's time to try something new," Fried also said that June 15th marks "qualifying day," and she officially "qualified" to be the next Governor of the state of Florida.
Both Crist and Fried have gone on length to discuss the damage they believe DeSantis has done in the post, and come August voters will decide who will challenge DeSantis in the November election.
