Florida Ag. Commissioner Nikki Fried Running for Governor

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried declared her candidacy for governor on Tuesday.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel said Fried filed paperwork with the state Division of Election stating she will raise and spend money in a bid for the Democrats’ nomination. Her campaign has not yet made a formal announcement, The Hill reported.

Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., announced his bid last month to be Florida governor again.

Crist was Florida’s Republican governor for a single term before running for other offices.

After becoming a Democrat, Crist in 2014 ran for governor again but lost to then-incumbent Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican.

Rep. Val Demmings, D-Fla., has also been widely discussed as a potential candidate to try to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican.

The Sentinel noted that as the only statewide elected Democrat, Fried has used her post as a platform to act as an outspoken critic of  DeSantis, who she has called an “authoritarian dictator.”

The Republican Governors Association, the party organization charged with electing and reelecting GOP chief executives, blasted Fried in a statement released on Tuesday.

“Instead of using her office to work for the people of Florida, Nikki Fried has spent the last 2 and a half years working to better herself,” RGA spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said. “Floridians want someone who will fight for them tirelessly, and Fried’s desperate political posturing and reliance on lies and pandering to make a point prove she’s the exact opposite of what Florida needs.”