A fighter who would help her party break two decades of Republican dominance in the state was sold as the "new hope" for Democrats. That is what the poster said. A poster depicting Fried as Princess Leia from the "Star Wars" franchise was displayed at the Florida Democrat's annual convention. Fried, who narrowly won a statewide race for agriculture commissioner, was prepared to lead the Democratic rebellion against Republicans. Three years later, Fried is fighting for her political life against Crist in the Democratic primary for governor. Florida's teachers union, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, environmental groups and Black faith leaders have all thrown their support behind Crist. One poll shows Crist up by double digits. The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the general election. They accuse the governor of near-authoritarian rule and point out that he is more concerned with a potential White House bid than helping Florida residents gain access to affordable housing or fixing the state's crumbling insurance market.
The Democrats are aware of the difficulties they face in November. The state Legislature has enormous power due to the fact that the priorities of the Legislature are approved frequently. For the first time in modern political history, the GOP overtook the Democrats in voter registration last fall.
Fried said that if he lost, the people would lose. I know what I need to do to get what I want.
After the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion protections, some of Fried's supporters are confused as to why Crist is seen as the favorite. Fried has tried to get people to vote after the landmark decision. Over the past three years, she has spent a lot of time trying to get to the root of the issues.
There is nothing against other Democratic candidates, and whoever wins we will all rally around them, but I believe a good Jewish girl from Broward County against someone like Ron DeSantis is something that would be a great match up.
Fried painted the 66-year-old Crist as a Democrat in name only, highlighting positions he held as a Republican that are very much outside modern Democratic orthodoxy. In the final weeks of the primary, Crist began attacking Fried over her ties to the business lobby and other groups that were seen as Republican-leaning. Fried became the state's agriculture commissioner after lobbying for marijuana.
Crist was asked about his attacks on Fried in the closing days. He said that she decided to do what she did. Everyone has their own look.
Many top Democrats say Crist won them over with his style and approach, and that he is the best candidate to take on DeSantis. Crist has tried to portray himself as someone who will unify Florida, while at the same time accusing his opponent of tearing apart the state.
The former head of the Democratic National Committee, who has known Crist for 30 years, said that Charlie has the best chance of blocking the agenda of the far right.
A lot of Democrats want to beat DeSantis.
According to Fernand Amandi, a Democratic pollster, the litmus test for voters in this election is who is the best to beat Ron DeSantis. Nikki and Charlie were unable to answer that question effectively.
During the primary, Crist reached out to key constituencies for their support, a move his campaign says helped build word of mouth and important support in a low turnout race. Only 25% of Democrats are expected to vote.
Crist went on a charm offensive while Fried focused on building up her profile. He relied on the Democratic coalition to draw up his policy positions. Crist, whose evolution on issues such as abortion and gun control has been scrutinized by Fried, took advice from those Democrats to change his stance on issues such as marijuana legalization. Marijuana grow houses and the sale of smoking paraphernalia were cracked down on by Crist when he was a Republican.
Fried picked up endorsements from key lawmakers, such as state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who supported Fried early in the race.
Jones said it was difficult to make the decision because he has a relationship withNikki. As the field opened up and I talked to people in my community, many local elected leaders were Team Charlie, and I found his message was appealing to them.
State Democrats missed an opportunity when they didn't rally behind Fried, who they worked closely with in the past to fight DeSantis.
Some people think Crist has a better chance of beating Ron DeSantis, but I am just so bored of white guys running against white guys, that's for sure. I want to support her from a personal and professional point of view.
The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the contraceptives law sent a wave of enthusiasm through the primary. Crist and Fried were both trying to harness the political energy, but Fried was thought to have received the biggest blow.
In Florida, a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest was approved by the state legislature.
White women and suburban women who I talk to and thought would be in Charlie's camp all of a sudden began to take a look atNikki. I think after the abortion case, you had women ask what it means for their daughter.
Fried attacked Crist's anti-abortion rights position while he was a Republican. Crist supported pro-life legislative efforts when he was running for the US Senate. He relied on the support of some of the state's most vocal abortion-rights advocates and brushed off questions about his changing stance on the issue.
After Crist became a Democrat, Sink was cautious of his record as a Republican. She said that the attacks on Crist over abortion rights and his appointing conservative justices to the Florida Supreme Court have not stuck because he has won over many Democrats.
When he first became a Democrat, Sink was skeptical, but she now acknowledges that he can be a good Democrat. He has been a Democrat for a long time and has always been pro-choice.
Ruth's List Florida, a group that recruits and trains female political candidates who support abortion rights, was co-founded by Sink. Sink had a good working relationship with Crist when she was the state's chief financial officer and she supports him partly because his campaign seems more viable.
He has always been very responsive to her. I didn't develop that kind of personal relationship with her. That is what made me change my mind. He was going to be able to build a large coalition.
Three decades in Florida politics, most of them spent as a Republican, brought Crist name recognition and a raising of funds. Some Democrats think Fried didn't do enough to build a political network which could have helped her close the primary field.
Fried's campaign claims it can pull off an upset on Tuesday and have drained bank accounts in a frenzied push. Some of the people associated with Fried's campaign worked on Andrew Gillum's bid for governor in the closing weeks of the race. Gillum lost by a large margin.
Fried believes money will flow into her campaign if she wins the primary. National donors will abandon the state if Crist wins, according to Fried.
Fried said she had more to lose than she did when she became the only Democrat in statewide office.
She admitted that she was surprised that Crist ended up being her opponent.
He thought this would be a good time for him to run for governor. She didn't know why he was in the race. He doesn't have the support of his own people to win the election. I don't know why he's here I know we have a fight on our hands.
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