Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, joined the “Deeper Dive with Dara Kam” podcast, part of the News Service of Florida and City & State Florida, to discuss efforts to boost enthusiasm among Florida Democrats — in a state where the Republican Party holds a super-majority in both legislative chamber and has controlled the Governor’s mansion since 1999.
Fried said, as the state party chair, she’s been crisscrossing the state to drum up support.
“The idea is to create energy wherever we go, not just in blue stronghold areas, but in areas where we haven’t been in a while, and invigorate our Democratic infrastructure while getting new volunteers and working on voter registration,” she said. “We’ve been hitting the ground running. People are showing energy and just want government to work; they’re tired of the culture wars.”
She laughed off the notion of an “Extreme agenda,” in the words of Christian Zieglar, the state’s Republican chair, that Democrats have.
“The radicalization of the Republicans, those to the right of Trump, is how we got here,” she said. “As for issues, we (Florida) have the largest teacher shortage in the nation, and a majority of Floridians did not want an abortion ban or permitless carry (for guns).”
Despite the legislative super majority, Fried said recruitment is already ongoing for political candidates in the 2024.
“Recruiting is why we’re going all over the state. We find more people want to run for office because they feel the moment of what we’re in,” she said. “Women ran as a backlash to Trump getting elected in 2016 and being part of the momentum we’re trying to develop. Such as, I know we are going to have a dynamic candidate who is going to run against Rick Scott (for the U.S. Senate in 2024). I have no doubt we will make sure Scott is a one-candidate Senator.”
If the Republican message is “anti-woke”, Fried said Democrats are “getting back to the basics of what government is supposed to do.”
“How do we make the lives of everybody in our state better?” she said. “We’re for the people of our state. We’re standing up for our working class, those who’ve been marginalized, and make sure a family of four can afford their house or property, their insurance and have access to health care. We just lost a million people off our Medicare list. Rick Scott wants to destroy Medicare and Social Security; these kind of people are running our state.
“Florida businesspeople and homeowners are saying, ‘I can’t find workers, I can’t find insurance. And as long as we talk about those issues, we win.”
Fried also talked about a perception of Democratic fundraising challenges in what’s becoming known as a deeper-red state.
“We’re already starting to see national donors opening their checkbooks,” she said. “There is energy here, national donors want to see a successful Florida Democratic Party, that we are ‘ground zero’ and on the front line of fighting back against MAGA extremism, and they will be in the trenches with us.”
Kam and Fried discussed authorized adult use of marijuana and enshrine in the state Constitution the right to an abortion after 15 weeks, matters that must pass the Florida Supreme Court before they could get on the ballot for a statewide initiative.
“I am not seeing this Supreme Court, which is becoming more and more political, passing these,” she said. “Their only roles should be to make sure it is a single subject (charter amendment), and the ballot language is not confusing. I think the language of these ballot initiatives is tight.”
To listen to the podcast in full, go to: https:// www.cityandstatefl. com/podcast/2023/08/nikki-fried-promotesefforts-pump-floridademocrats/389357/