JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried discussed the party’s organizing strategy and challenges facing Democrats in Florida on This Week In Jacksonville.
Fried, who previously served as the state’s agriculture commissioner, said that when she became chair, the party launched the Pendulum program, a year-round statewide organizing model.
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“Last year we hit and called over 3 to 5 million Floridians throughout the course of the state,” she said. The program helped flip 17 seats in municipal elections, including Miami’s mayoral election for the first time in 30 years.
Highlighting the party’s progress, Fried noted, “Those over performances that we saw in 2025 were even five points higher than the national average.”
Fried identified voter suppression as the biggest obstacle for Democrats gaining ground in statewide races. She pointed to gerrymandering, restrictive voter registration laws, and the creation of an “election police” by Gov. Ron DeSantis that arrests individuals before elections.
Fried said claims that new voting laws increase election security are humorous to her.
“Ron DeSantis, over the last eight years that he’s been governor, has said this is the most secure elections in the country...So all this is a ruse, including the new pieces of legislation that they’re wanting to pass here in the state of Florida,” Fried said.
She explained that the proposed laws would make it harder for women who have changed their last name, naturalized citizens, seniors without driver’s licenses, and others to vote.
“That is all forms of voter suppression, not security,” Fried said.
To watch our full interview with Fried and our conversation with News4JAX Political Analyst Rick Mullaney about the legal foundations behind major national issues, tune in to This Week In Jacksonville.