Just when you thought Florida Democrats couldn’t sink any lower, the bottom could finally fall out.
A group of FDP leaders, have authored an open letter to draft former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried as a candidate to Chair the Florida Democratic Party. The election is February 25, and former State Senator and Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Annette Taddeo is the clear front-runner. In fact, Taddeo’s election had felt like such a fait accompli in progressive activist circles, this site hadn’t weighed in on the race, because it felt like everyone was pulling in the same direction, so we felt no need to just add our voice to a chorus that was already strong.
But shame on us, because with professional party committee people and operatives ALWAYS mischievously scheming to maintain their power and status irrespective of the electoral cost for Democrats, nothing in this party is ever straight forward or logical.
Fried had per our sources been seeking out ways to thrust herself into the FDP conversation for several weeks. Either directly, or through proxies acting on her behalf, we understand the idea of a Fried candidacy has been in the mix for while, but I will personally concede that I had been laughing off the efforts as a vain attempt for Fried, who is now out of office to maintain relevancy.
The push for Fried is coming from those with vested interests within the party apparatus who don’t want rules reform which would make the party actually democratic (right now calling the Florida Democratic Party, democratic is a complete oxymoron). They have been aided by professional operatives who have for years fed at the trough financially while the party continues to fail badly electorally.
Here is the letter seeking to draft Fried:
Why is Fried a terrible choice to lead Florida Democrats?
It’s impossible in one short article to articulate this completely, but in simple terms if you want a values-based party that stands up for working class Floridians, putting a former corporate lobbyist with numerous donations to prominent GOPers (including current Attorney General Ashley Moody) whose views on economics and the environment seemed to be shaped by her relationships with FPL and Big Sugar seems a bad idea. That is unless you want to maintain GOP rule over Florida, because when forced to pick between a real GOP and a fake GOP, the real GOP will win every time.
Florida Democrats need to wipe the slate clean and start over. And as noted above, we had opted to focus on Black History Month on this site (and finishing our party audit) because we felt things were moving along logically in the discussion of party matters. But unfortunately, with this major fork in the road, we have been forced to reengage and you can expect more coverage between now and February 25.
The Florida Squeeze 
Interesting. I see from your report that someone from Broward County, where I live, has joined the list of insiders seeking to keep control of a process that keeps failing Democrats.
That’s sad, especially since a neighbor to our south, with a progressive record, is seeking the position.
I’d also love to know, at least generally, what other Broward County insiders back Ms. Fried.
Just asking.
LikeLike
Why would you want 6 time loser AT to run the FDP when she can’t even get herself elected? Nikki Fried was for 4 years the first statewide elected Democrat in 20 years and a Cabinet member. I was one of many people who called Nikki on November 9, 2022, and asked her to run for FDP Chair, and she said she was not considering it at the time.
Nikki will make a great FDP chair. I hope she does run and gets elected so we can turn this ship around and bring real effective leadership to our state and country.
LikeLike
Nikki Fried is not a good choice. And all those people who are pushing her, want to keep the terrible weighted vote.
We need to also stop pushing Annette Taddeo. She is no better than Nikki.
The one progressive running (Carolina) is who should take over the FDP. She is one of us and isn’t a grifter or establishment who seems to only care about racking up generic endorsements from fellow electeds.
LikeLike
I agree Carolina is wonderful. Whether she can win is another matter but I don’t begrudge anyone supporting her! And she would certainly deliver the values-based party that many of us seek.
LikeLike
Do blogs that seek to be hired by campaigns, or their related friends becoming those campaigns’ consultants, count as party operatives?
Asking for a friend, KK. The astroturf grassroots push gets old.
LikeLike
I’m actually not seeking to be hired by anyone. If it comes fine, but I haven’t paid a dollar for political work in several years. And am not actively seeking such work. Hence why we noted in the post I had waded into this space until now. I’m much more focused on writing at this point.
LikeLike
KK, it is sad that you wouldn’t know TRUTH if it slapped you in the face.
LikeLike
The tropes about the “vested interests within the party apparatus” and the “professional operatives who have for years fed at the trough” have been circulating around for years and paraded each time there is a push to put political progressives in charge of the FDP. Could you please spell out who are these “vested interests” “professional operatives?” My understanding is that the FDP is financially poor and hollowed out, so how could anybody profit from such an apparatus?
LikeLike
I’m with Robert Muniz. For those of us who are lowly precinct people, we need more than mere words. Especially since my State Committeewoman and Committeeman are on the list supporting Nikki. I am not wild about Annette Taddeo, either, and I do not know the Carolina that someone spoke of.
LikeLike