TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In an exclusive sit-down interview on this week’s Battleground Florida, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said she’ll make a decision about whether to run for governor sometime in the next several months.
“Just for my own personal piece of mind, hopefully by the middle to end of the summer,” Fried said.
Fried isn’t even running yet and she’s already in a dead heat with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to a new poll this week by St. Pete Polls for Florida Politics.
Fried ripped the governor for his response to the pandemic, despite Covid case and death rates in Florida being similar to other states that have been locked down.
“Just because we may be less, doesn’t mean he hasn’t done things wrong,” said Fried. “We still lost 33,000 people in our state. 82,000 people were hospitalized. 2 million people were sickened. That’s not something to brag about.”
Fried also responded to controversial legislation moving through the Florida legislature this session.
Regarding two bills that would ban transgender girls & women from participating in female sports (HB 1475 and SB 2012), Fried said the issue was about equality.
“It seems like we keep moving backwards in our state,” Fried said. “This is a choice they’re making, something they feel is right for them to go through. And to prohibit them from getting involved in equal access — we’re going back to not allowing black individuals from voting.”
“I do not think the state has any role to be playing in this conversation. That’s up to a league, a family, an individual. State government should not be interfering in things like this. This is not a place for a government to interfere with an individual’s personal choices and decisions.”
Fried is a former marijuana lobbyist who has been a big proponent of legalization. Her fiancé is a former marijuna industry executive and currently involved in a “cannabis-related venture” with her father.
Last Saturday, Fried tweeted “Legalizing cannabis solves lots of problems and creates none.”
When asked if recent issues in states that have legalized marijuana could also happen here, Fried said she does not believe legal pot will cause more issues.
“Absolutely not,” said Fried. “If a state puts together a legalization plan, with strict penalties for selling under a certain age, and making sure there are standards. That’s when you started seeing problems in California and Colorado, when they didn’t create these regulatory standards.”
Watch 8 On Your Side’s weekly political show Battleground Florida with host Evan Donovan every Sunday morning at 9:30 right before Meet the Press.
