Nikki Fried

Fried won the Democratic nomination for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2018, defeating primary opponents Jeffrey Duane Porter (the mayor of Homestead) and Roy David Walker (an environmental activist) by a broad margin.[6] Fried was criticized by her primary opponents for her past campaign contributions to Republicans.[1]

In the general election, Fried faced off against Republican nominee state Representative Matt Caldwell,[7] of North Fort Myers, a real estate appraiser.[8]

Fried ran on a platform in favor of removing obstacles to medical marijuana in Florida, criticizing the state government's inaction in implementing the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative (Amendment 2), in which Florida voters approved the right of qualified patients to use marijuana.[9] Fried described herself as "a fierce advocate for expanding access to medical marijuana for suffering Floridians"[7] and called for placing regulation of medical marijuana in the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services rather than the Department of Health.[10] Along with other Democratic candidates, Fried supported a state-run bank to provide financing for the marijuana industry, noting other banks' policies serving marijuana-related businesses.[9] During her 2018 campaign, Fried also pledged to "ensure full background checks are completed on gun permits"; in Florida, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is charged with issuing concealed carry permits, and incumbent Commissioner Adam Putnam was criticized after it was revealed in 2018 that his office failed to complete background checks before issuing tens of thousands of permits. In fact,it was less than 300 which were revoked when the mistakes of 3 civil service employees were caught during an audit. Applications aren't handled directly by the Ag Commissioner. They are handled by state civil service employees working under an FDACS "bureau chief" over CCW licensing.[10] Fried also pledged to "put science before politics and put our waterways first" if elected.[10] Fried also endorsed Amendment 4, which would automatically restore voting rights for most felons after the completion of their sentences (see felon disenfranchisement in Florida).[2]

Fried was endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times,[2] the Sun Sentinel,[11] and the Palm Beach Post.[12] Fried received the endorsements of the Everglades Trust, Sierra Club, Equality Florida, and Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, while Caldwell received the endorsements of business and industry groups, including the Florida Farm Bureau's political action committee, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida.[8]

Fried won an extremely tight election. While initial returns on Election Day showed Caldwell in the lead, by the completion of the count Fried narrowly pulled ahead with a margin of just 0.06% of votes separating the two candidates:[7] Following a machine recount and a manual (hand) recount, Fried maintained and slightly expanded her lead, ultimately winning by 6,753 votes (0.08%).[8] While Caldwell initially sued the Broward County supervisor of elections, Brenda Snipes over the counting of ballots, Caldwell dropped the lawsuit and conceded defeat on November 19.[8] Fried became the first Democrat to win the Commissioner of Agriculture position since 1998, the only Democrat to win a statewide race in Florida in 2018, and the first Democrat elected to a statewide executive position in Florida since Alex Sink served as Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2011.[8]

Fried opposed the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the 2019-20 free trade agreement that officially amended the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[13][14]

In 2019 Fried crafted legislation with Democratic State Rep. Javier Fernandez targeting Florida gun laws. HB 809 would have required retention of fingerprint records, require proof of completion of firearms safety training for a license to be renewed, and reduced the term for a concealed-weapons permit from seven to five years. It did not pass the legislature in 2019.[15]

In 2020 Fried's office requested and was granted federal waivers to provide free meals to students despite schools being closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Almost 86% of the almost 287 million school lunches in the 2018-2019 Florida academic year were free or reduced lunches, serving 2.9 million students. The waivers and distributions are meant to make sure lower income students are not going hungry while schools remain closed.[16][17][18]

Fried was selected as one of seventeen speakers to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[19]

Shortly after entering office in 2019, Fried's office redesigned the Department of Agricultures certified gas-pump stickers, which verify to customers the gas pump has been approved by the state. Previous Agriculture Commissioners had put their own names on the stickers for decades, but Fried was the first to put a color photograph of herself smiling on the sticker. The decision sparked allegations by the Florida GOP, who accused Fried of using taxpayer funds to increase her political exposure. The Florida legislature quickly passed a law limiting the taxpayer-funded stickers to only “a combination of lettering, numbering, words, or the department logo.” The stickers then began to be replaced with a new design that does not have her photograph.[20][21]

In August 2019, the department appointed two registered lobbyists for the Florida Sugar Cane League to consult on the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual Project Delivery Team, which was set to advise the United States Army Corps of Engineers on procedures for lake levels. Environmentalists have called for lake levels to be lowered to prevent harmful discharges, while the sugar industry has advocated for keeping levels high to avoid the threat of low water supply for farmers and municipalities. U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) sent a letter to the Corps of Engineers seeking the lobbyists removal, alleging the appointments were an attempt to force sugar industry influence into the process.[22] Seven Florida environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades and Everglades Trust, called for the members to be removed and criticized their appointment.[23] While Fried originally defended the appointments as expert consultants, she later fired their consulting firm and removed them from working on the project.[24]

In December 2019, Fried abstained from a cabinet vote on the nominee for state Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) Commissioner, in apparent contravention of Florida state law. Florida law states cabinet officials "may not abstain" from cabinet votes unless there is a conflict of interest. Fried said she had concerns over the transparency of the nomination and said her interpretation of the law did not mandate her to vote yes or no. Two experts contacted by the Tampa Bay Times found her argument legally "shaky" and contrary to the purpose of Florida's open government laws.[25][26]