Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Florida’s current Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried raised $812,544.18 in contributions during June, the first month of her campaign.
Almost $416,000 was raised by her political committee, known as Florida Consumers First, and $396,000 by her campaign.
Compared to other candidates in the race, Democrat Charlie Crist and current Governor Ron DeSantis, Fried significantly trails in total cash on hand.
In her announcement reported by the Miami Herald, Fried reported a total of $812,544.18, with 92% of the contributions coming from smaller accounts that were less than $100. In comparison, Charlie Crist was able to generate $1.5 million in campaign funds in his first month. Fried formed her political committee in May 2019 and with the first month of her campaign underway, she has a total of $2.18 million in cash on hand.
Fried’s spokesperson Max Flugrath said in a statement on Twitter, “With over 4,725 contributions, largely from grassroots donors, it’s clear that voters are excited about Nikki’s run against the establishment, to break Florida’s corrupt system and bring something new to the Sunshine State.” He added that 89% of donors were from Florida and that, “June’s strong fundraising numbers indicate that Floridians appreciate her willingness to speak out and stand up for what’s right.”
According to the Herald, “Fundraisers hosted for her campaign were smaller in scale, hosted by local supporters…Fried’s campaign has also employed some creative tactics to attract small donors, like randomly selecting donors to have personal phone calls with Fried or private Zoom calls with media adviser Kevin Cate.”
However, Fried and Crist both have a lot of ground to make up in competing with Governor DeSantis who has $39 million in cash on hand after raising $7.5 million in May, and $14 million in April.
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Casey Owens is a contributing writer for The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Florida Capitol” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
