Potential DeSantis Challenger Nikki Fried Reports ‘Modest’ Haul in First Month of Fundraising

Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), who is challenging Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) in Florida’s Democrat gubernatorial primary, raised a “modest” $813,000 in her first month of fundraising.

According to the Miami Herald, Fried raised $812,544.18 in June, falling behind the $1.5 million raised by Crist. The vast majority of Fried’s contributions came in increments of less than $100, and half of the total haul stemmed from her Florida Consumers First political committee. Combined with her campaign account, Fried has a war chest of $2.18 million.

Fried spokesman Max Flugrath said the candidate’s fundraising numbers “indicate that Floridians appreciate her willingness to speak out and stand up for what’s right.”

Both Fried’s and Crist’s, numbers, however, pale in comparison to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s fundraising hauls.

“He raised $7.5 million into his political committee in May, bringing the total cash on hand to $39 million,” according to the Herald.

Fried announced her gubernatorial bid in June, accusing DeSantis of embracing a “right-wing agenda and authoritarian style of governing that doesn’t fit in the state of Florida.”

She has remained a prominent critic of DeSantis, criticizing his handling of the Chinese coronavirus in the Sunshine State, triggering pushback from the governor.

“Nikki Fried has done nothing in office. She does nothing. All she does is emote on social media, virtue signal to small-dollar donors in California and New York,” DeSantis said during a June press conference.

“She put her face — spent millions of dollars — to put her face on every gas pump across this state purely to boost her own image at your expense as a taxpayer. She’s a lockdown lobbyist. She would have had our kids locked out of schools the whole year,” he continued.

“She would have had this business shuttered for the whole year. They would be out of business if Fried were governor. So she’s opposed us at every turn,” DeSantis said, adding that Fried opposed “all the good stuff we’ve been able to accomplish for Florida.”

“I’ve done more, I think, in my first week as governor than she has done in her entire time as agricultural commissioner,” he added:

Notably, Fried was the official who bucked DeSantis’s order to lower flags to half-staff in honor of the late Rush Limbaugh in February, explaining she would not “celebrate hate speech, bigotry, and division.”

Fried has also joined the chorus of Democrats who oppose basic election integrity efforts embraced by states across the nation, concluding the GOP is going “full Jim Crow”: