It’s breaking news when former Florida Agriculture and Consumer Affairs commissioner Nikki Fried is elected to chair the Florida Democratic Party on Saturday. Fried is well known in the Florida LGBTQ+ community as being the only statewide elected official as a democratic in more than a decade. She is an avid LGBTQ+ advocate. She was in a highly competitive primary race for Governor with Congressman Charlie Crist. Fried created the first ever LGBTQ+ consumer advocate in Florida history. First Nik Harris who went onto the HRC and then Nathan Bruemmer who this weekend became the President of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus. This new position for Fried is critically important to the Florida LGBTQ+ community. The FDP was widely criticized for the landslide defeats seen in the midterm elections. The FDP is the state’s strength for issues like voter turnout, candidate recruitment and vital campaign fundraising support. The FDP is also instrumental in uniting the core base of Florida democrats which include a coalition of LGBTQ+, women, black, religious diversity, latino, Gen Z and Millenials plus other minority groups. Moments after the news of Nikki Frieds victory, Queer News Tonight lead anchor Al Ferguson spoke to Fried about these issues and what’s next for the LGBTQ+ community in Florida.
