Camera Catches Face of Last Statewide-Elected Fla. Dem as DeSantis Gets Applause - Her Time Is Ticking

By Ryan Ledendecker November 22, 2022 at 3:05pm

Thanks to the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections, Florida is now a fire-engine-red state. As a matter of fact, it soon will be completely red.

That’s because as of Jan. 3, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried’s term will end, according to Ballotpedia.

Fried is the last statewide-elected Democrat in Florida.

The realization of her party’s standing in the Sunshine State was on display Tuesday during the Florida Senate’s organization session at the state Capitol in Tallahassee.

As Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis received a lengthy standing ovation on the Senate floor, Fried’s face said it all.

“NOW: Governor Ron DeSantis is greeted with a standing ovation in the Senate Chamber- but @NikkiFried is clearly seething with a mope on her face as her days as an elected official dwindle,” Brendon Leslie, editor-in-chief of Florida’s Voice, wrote on Twitter.

NOW: Governor Ron DeSantis is greeted with a standing ovation in the Senate Chamber- but @NikkiFried is clearly seething with a mope on her face as her days as an elected official dwindle pic.twitter.com/zNvA1SR80C

— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) November 22, 2022

Leslie did us all the favor of zooming in on Fried’s expression as DeSantis received roaring applause.

🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ptFLoWOGnL

— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) November 22, 2022

A video of the session on the state’s website showed Fried initially clapped for the governor before she apparently had enough of that. (It starts around the 45:25 mark.)

The comment section of Leslie’s Twitter post was not kind to her. The PG version of the common sentiment echoed in the comments was “good riddance.”

One Twitter user wrote, “Poor Nikki couldn’t even beat flip flop Chuckles. Someone’s 15 minutes is almost up.”

Fried had her chance to hold a position for the Democratic Party in the Sunshine State, but she lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary to a former Republican, Charlie Crist.

Of course, we know that Crist was nothing short of trounced by DeSantis in the midterm election to the tune of roughly 20 points, leaving no doubt that Florida is one of the strongest Republican states in the nation.

In her last weeks as the state’s agricultural commissioner, instead of doing good work for Florida’s farmers, Fried has found herself involved in catfights on Twitter — and by “catfights,” I mean she went back and forth with a popular conservative Twitter account known as “Catturd.”

After she tweeted that Republicans shouldn’t consider DeSantis in 2024 unless they are “looking to lose again,” Catturd said she was “an expert on losing.”

“I lost one primary and won one statewide,” Fried snapped. “I know you don’t do math well but that is 1-1 ratio with the win being statewide. You are pathetic.”

Nikki is an expert on losing – 😂

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) November 17, 2022

“Nobody can trigger 20-point-loser in the Florida primary Nikki Fried, like me,” Catturd said in response.

Nobody can trigger 20-point-loser in the Florida primary Nikki Fried, like me. 😂😂😂 https://t.co/rtIQ4pNHQq

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) November 20, 2022

I’m sure Florida’s farmers can appreciate that she spends so much energy on social media instead of leaving a legacy of being helpful and doing meaningful work until the end of her term.

So, just how red is Florida? Like in most states, the ultimate test would be whether a Republican can turn the political tides in a major city or county. DeSantis managed to do that to Miami-Dade County, which left the jaws of pundits on the ground.

As a matter of fact, according to Axios, DeSantis was the first Republican governor to flip Miami-Dade County in two decades. That’s how red Florida is, which will come in handy in the 2024 election, as it’s no longer a swing state for which Republicans have to fight.

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