Less than two months out from the Democratic primary for Florida governor, Nikki Fried’s attacks on Charlie Crist for his tenure as a Republican governor have become complicated due to Fried’s own campaign donations to GOP candidates.
Crist, who served as Florida’s governor from 2007 to 20011, changed parties and won the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014. Crist now serves as a Democratic member of Congress.
Fried’s message to Democratic voters has attempted to take advantage of Crist’s past ties to Republican causes.
“They’re tired of recycled politicians, especially people that haven’t delivered for Democrats ever,” Fried said. She added that Crist needs to be held “accountable” for his past “destructive” record assisting Republicans.
Specifically, Fried has highlighted Crist’s past positions on guns and abortion.
Noting that Crist was once widely-praised by the National Rifle Association (NRA), Fried states on the campaign trail, “I’m the only leading candidate for governor of Florida who has never accepted a damn dime from the NRA.” The NRA backed Crist ahead of his 2006 run for governor.
In addition, Fried has begun running a social media ad featuring Crist, mostly in his days as a Republican governor and candidate, describing himself repeatedly as “pro-life.”
However, Fried’s attacks on Crist’s ties to Republican positions are forcing her campaign to answer questions about her own ties to Republicans, including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Campaign records show that Fried has made several donations to notable Republicans over the last seven years. Most recently, Fried donated $2,000 in 2017 to Ashley Moody, who at the time was running as a Republican for attorney general. Moody went on to win the election.
In addition, Fried gave $250 to Adam Putnam in 2014 when he ran for re-election as agriculture commissioner, donated $1,000 in 2016 to then-state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R-Miami) in his failed re-election bid, and contributed $250 to former Governor Jeb Bush when he ran for president in 2016.
When asked about the attacks on Crist in light of Fried’s donation history, Keith Edwards, a spokesperson for the Fried campaign, said that there’s a “huge difference between Crist’s past support for gun rights, chain gangs, anti-gay rights laws and Nikki Fried working with some Republicans to pass laws about foster care children and medical marijuana. Everybody, especially Ron DeSantis, knows how easy it is to beat Charlie by calling him a politician floating in the wind and being for whatever he thinks will get him votes. He’s not going to lose the primary because he’s changed his mind on literally everything, he’s going to lose the primary because nobody actually believes him.”
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Steve Stewart is a senior contributor at The Florida Capital Star.
