Nikki Fried vows to rebuild Florida Democrats as re-elected chair

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nikki Fried was reelected Saturday as chair of the Florida Democratic Party, which is seeking to regain relevance in a state that has tilted decidedly toward the Republicans.

Fried, who was first chosen as chair in 2023, got more than three-quarters of the vote from the party executive committee over state Sen. Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville. Fried will serve another four years in the role.

She was the last Democrat to hold statewide office as agriculture commissioner from 2019-2023 and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. Republicans now hold all statewide offices in the third-largest state and dominate both the Legislature and the congressional delegation.

The GOP also has taken a decisive lead over Democrats in voter registration, according to the secretary of state’s office. Fried said in a news release that rebuilding the party starts at the local level.

“Over the next four years, Florida Democrats will continue to organize, mobilize and hold Republicans accountable,” Fried said. “We’ll focus on winning local races, push our state legislators to pass policies that support hard-working Floridians and make our state more affordable for all, and stand up to Republicans in Washington who want to take Florida’s extreme policies nationwide.”

GOP officials say it’s not going to work.

Fried’s pick as party chair is “the only statewide election Florida democrats can expect to win for a very long time,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a former governor, said on the X social media platform.

The Democrats were also choosing other party officers and Democratic National Committee members at their meeting Saturday.