Source: Politics<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE \u2014 Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has a message ahead of her likely challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis: It\u2019s all about \u201cRon\u2019s regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fried in recent days has been previewing her forthcoming attack strategy to voters, a pitch that will paint DeSantis as a dictator in the governor\u2019s mansion. For fuel, Fried will focus largely on DeSantis\u2019 push for legislation that cracks down on rioters as well as his signing an election overhaul bill that Republicans call safeguarding state elections \u2014 but Democrats have decried as voter suppression. She’ll also criticize DeSantis for overruling local governments on pandemic restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of the state of Florida are done with this authoritarian regime taking away power from the people of our state and trying to lock more and more people up,\u201d Fried said.<\/p>\n
She made her comments during a Tuesday news conference where she called on DeSantis to veto a lengthy list of bills, as well as amplify her forthcoming gubernatorial messaging on the same day Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist<\/a>, a former Republican governor, announced his bid for governor. The availability came less than an hour after a meeting of DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet, where Fried and the Republican governor sat just feet from each other for nearly two hours.<\/p>\n Fried, like other Democrats, has zeroed in on so-called anti-riot legislation DeSantis called for in the wake of protests that sprang up across the country after the murder of George Floyd. But she\u2019s also increasingly hitting DeSantis\u2019 decision to invalidate pandemic orders put in place by local governments, such as mask mandates.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people of our state do not want a dictator for governor,\u201d she said. \u201cThey want someone who looks out for their well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n As Florida\u2019s only statewide elected Democrat, Fried has long been seen as a 2022 challenger to DeSantis, but the field will not be her\u2019s alone. Along with Crist announcing his bid to return to the governor\u2019s mansion on Tuesday, Orlando Democratic Rep. Val Demings<\/a> is also expected to run, and the former police chief is already drawing significant buzz in Democratic circles.<\/p>\n The Republican Party of Florida has largely been serving as DeSantis\u2019 defender, lambasting Crist after his Tuesday announcement, but also sharpening their attacks on Fried because of her long-seen frontrunner status.<\/p>\n \u201cNikki Fried is once again using her office for political grandstanding and has been campaigning for governor since the day she was elected,\u201d the party said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cFried should be focused on the agency she was elected to oversee. Unfortunately, she is up to her ears in conflicts of interest, and is beholden to special interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Her timeline for declaring her candidacy is not yet clear, but she has signaled the announcement is imminent.<\/p>\n \u201cI get that question on almost an hourly basis at this point,\u201d Fried said during the press conference. \u201cAs our state\u2019s only statewide elected Democrat and as someone who has always put public services before partisanship, it is becoming clearer and clearer … that what we have seen from this governor that last two and a half years from this governor, the he must be a one-term governor.\u201d<\/p>\n