Charlie Crist defeated Nikki Fried in Tuesday's Democratic primary and will face Republican Ron DeSantis in the Florida governor's race in November.
In selecting Crist, Florida Democrats sided with a candidate backed by many in the party’s establishment who viewed him as the safest choice, even after he lost his previous two statewide elections.
Crist, 66, first won the governor's race in 2006, as a Republican, but chose to not run for a second term in 2010. He then went on to lose a U.S. Senate bid as an Independent, and then he ran for governor in 2014 as a Democrat and lost.
Fried, 44, is the only elected Democrat in Florida to hold a statewide seat but chose not to run for reelection as the state's agriculture commissioner.
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The race ultimately centered on the political future of DeSantis, who emerged from a narrow victory four years ago to become one of the most prominent figures in GOP politics. His hands-off approach to the pandemic and eagerness to lean into divides over race, gender and LGBTQ rights have resonated with many Republican voters who see DeSantis as a natural heir to former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis' reelection effort is widely assumed to be a precursor to a presidential run in 2024, adding to a sense of urgency among Democrats to blunt his rise now.
“Tonight, the people of Florida clearly sent a message: They want a governor who cares about them and solves real problems, preserves our freedom, not a bully who divides us and takes our freedom away," Crist declared, declining to use DeSantis' name. “This guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it. However, when we defeat them on Nov. 8 that show is over. Enough."
DECISION 2022
Fried said she called Crist to congratulate him on his victory and asked her supporters to come together to support the Democratic nominee.
“We are going to make Ronald DeSantis a one-term governor and a zero-term president of the United States," she said.
From a raucous ballroom in Miami, DeSantis previewed the general election contest as a contest against not just Crist, but against President Joe Biden and “woke” ideology.
“We will never ever surrender to the woke agenda," DeSantis charged. "Florida is a state where woke goes to die.”
Florida is not expected to be among the most competitive states this fall given its rightward shift, but it may be the most expensive.
Crist raised $14 million so far this election cycle, nearly twice as much as Fried. But he’s going up against a fundraising behemoth. DeSantis’ political operation has already raised more than $165 million since he took office, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He’s on pace to shatter the record for the most money ever raised by a candidate for governor.
“Don’t let anyone tell you it’s going to be easy. Over the next two and a half months, they’re gonna throw everything they have at us,” DeSantis said. He added, “I got elected less than four years ago, but we’re just getting warmed up.”
