FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried said Tuesday she’d like to see a massive effort to “change the culture of America when it comes to guns,” along the scale of the efforts that turned cigarette smoking into something that’s less glamorous — and thus less popular — than it was decades ago.
“If you ask this newest generation about cigarette smoking, they respond with disgust. That’s because we put money into changing the conversation,” Fried said at a campaign appearance in Fort Lauderdale.
She criticized politicians who brandish guns in their political advertising. Fried said they think it’s “cool” — and they hope to secure endorsements from the National Rifle Association.
“It’s not cool to be holding up your gun,” she said, a view that isn’t confined to politicians holding weapons. “It’s not cool to be going and comparing guns in the backyard.”
Gun violence was on the minds of several of the 21 people, mostly seniors, who attended a Fried campaign event at Mount Hermon AME Church Family Life Center in the heart of the Black community in northwest Fort Lauderdale.
“Even when I go into a restaurant, I’m looking for exit doors. I’m looking for how to get out,” retiree Lockey Anderson told the candidate. “You can’t go to a movie theater, because you don’t know if you’re going to get shot.”
Fried said the issue defies simple solutions. “There is no one-stop-shop solution to this,” she said, adding that “the conversation is very different” in different communities.
In Parkland, where 17 people were killed and 17 wounded in the Feb. 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school massacre, Fried said “families talk about one aspect:” mass gun shootings.
Elsewhere, she said, the main concern is constant gun violence. “In our Black communities, those shootings are happening every day, and are not making the press.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republican Fried hopes to face in November, has said he would support a Florida law allowing people to carry weapons without a permit — something gun enthusiasts have branded “constitutional carry” — though the governor hasn’t said when he’d follow through on that pledge.
Fried said police officers she’s spoken to don’t want that, “because if they go on to a scene, they don’t know who’s a good guy [or] who is the bad guy, and that is very dangerous for our law enforcement.” She said she would veto any such legislation if she is elected governor.
Fried also described herself as a Second Amendment supporter who has a concealed carry permit and owns a gun.
Primary landscape
Fried said the newly retooled race for the Democratic nomination will help voters see clear distinctions between her and Charlie Crist.
Fried declined, however, to directly say whether she thinks Monday’s announcement that the third candidate — Annette Taddeo — was dropping out would benefit her.
“Certainly we have seen that across the nation that people are looking for something new. They’re looking for women to step up and to lead,” Fried told reporters. “Having a one-on-one with myself and Charlie will give a clear distinction between the two of us and make the case black and white of where we go from here.”
Fried, the only Democrat in statewide elected office, is finishing her first term as state agriculture commissioner. Crist, a Democratic congressman from St. Petersburg, has been elected multiple times statewide, including a term as governor — when he used to be a Republican.
Fried has been portraying herself as true to Democratic principles while casting doubt on Crist’s bona fides as a Democrat. She suggested she has convictions on issues and Crist doesn’t.
“I am true to who I am to what I believe in. I don’t say things or take positions because I want to win an election. I take positions and am supportive of issues because I want to make a difference,” she said.
She repeated on Tuesday her demand for more pre-primary debates than the one Crist has agreed to.
Debate over debates is a constant in political campaigns. Frontrunners typically eschew debates, not wanting to give competitors exposure that comes from appearing on the same stage and not wanting to risk making a mistake that generates news coverage. Conversely, candidates hoping to catch up almost always want lots of debates, hoping to gain from the publicity or that the incumbent slips up.
Crist has raised more money and received more endorsements than Fried.
On Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement that he raised more than $1 million in contributions last month.
“As our campaign continues in our mission to deliver a Florida for All, I could not be more thankful for the outpouring of support we’ve received from every corner of the Sunshine State,” Crist said in a written statement. “Now more than ever, Floridians are ready to put an end to the division and hurt Governor DeSantis has brought to our communities. We are building a hopeful and optimistic movement that will work tirelessly to bring Florida together and win this election for the people in November.”
Fried said she didn’t know how much she raised – campaign filings for the month aren’t yet due — but said it would be less than $1 million.
Taddeo was far behind Crist and Fried in money and endorsements and said Monday she was leaving the contest for the gubernatorial nomination to instead seek the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar, a first-term Republican from Miami-Dade County.
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