Fried and Crist deliver closing statements in Tallahassee for Democrats race to be governor

The two Democratic candidates for governor launched statewide bus tours to make closing arguments for the Aug 23 primary to pick who will face incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in November.

Powered by a new poll indicating the race is a statistical tie, Nikki Fried’s “Something New” campaign bus pulled up at a Tallahassee micro-brewery Tuesday night for a rally with about 100 supporters of her quest to be Florida's first woman governor.

Fried's 17-stop barnstorm of the state started in Panama City the morning of the release of the poll by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory, showing her with a four-point lead.

The lead is within the poll’s margin of error of 4.3% and, while an outlier, may indicate the race could be more competitive in the days before election night.

Florida governor's race: Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried unleash ground game as Democratic primary for governor nears finish

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Crist brandished his own poll, one conducted by Change Research, that showed him up by 10 percentage points. On Tuesday, he also embarked on a statewide “Hope for Florida” tour that includes endorsements by 50 Black pastors and reverends.

Crist leads in fundraising, endorsements by elected officials and community leaders, and according to RealClear Politics, has a double-digit lead in five of six polls conducted by three different organizations since February.

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The UNF poll concluded that there has been a 20-point swing among women voters to Fried since pollsters started surveying the race.

It created a buzz at Proof Brewery, a venue popular with state office workers and college students, while they waited for Fried's bus to arrive from a Panama City stop.

Campaign insiders had been telling reporters for a week that a “Nikki Wave” of support has been building in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June to repeal the right to an abortion.

“And that margin becomes greater when you inform and remind people about Charlie’s past and about Nikki’s accomplishments,” said Fried advisor Matthew Van Name.

Fried's message in the final week of the primary campaign is that Crist had his chance and it is time for Florida to try something new.

She explained at Proof, Crist does not deserve to be the Democratic nominee based on his record as a Republican governor in 2006 to 2010 when he appointed judges who have:

• taken away Black congressional districts,

• plotted to overthrow Roe vs. Wade,

• and accepted campaign money from the NRA.

Fried compared Crist to a long list of establishment politicians she called "mannequin lawmakers" who created an affordable housing crisis, a property insurance crisis and a loss of personal freedom.

"Look at what happened today. You have a young girl, a minor, being forced to give birth — denied an abortion — because the state of Florida thinks she isn’t mature enough to decide for herself. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have parents to sign off on it. Think about that. That’s Handmaid's Tale. We are living in a dystopian novel. That’s not freedom," said Fried.

And, Fried concludes, this is why it is time for Florida to try something new, a female governor.

Fried promised to veto any further raids on Florida's affordable housing fund, which lawmakers have transferred some $2.3 billion during the past decade.

She proposed a cut to property taxes by expansion of the Homestead Exemption to $100,000.

Rising anxiety over abortion rights: Crist, Fried bet on abortion rights, rising insurance costs in fight for Florida governor

And she said, she will lead a drive to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot to protect a woman’s right to an abortion, and if elected will “refuse to sign legislation that infringes upon a woman's right to choose.”

Fried reminds voters the reason why voters should try something new is because the problems she outlined were created in large part by the last three Republican governors, Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott and former Republican, now Democrat, Charlie Crist.

Crist: 'This election is about good versus bad'

The Crist camp is quick to point out that he vetoed an anti-abortion measure as governor, blocked another as a state senator, and has been endorsed by pro-choice advocates including Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, and Barbara Zdravecky, former CEO of Planned Parenthood for Southwest and Central Florida.

In an email exchange Tuesday, Crist spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez expressed irritation with Fried’s relentless abortion messaging and continual attack on Crist's record.

“Charlie Crist has spent the last 15 months doing what every single Democrat in this race should have been doing, taking the fight to Ron DeSantis. While Nikki has run a campaign based on misleading voters about Charlie’s record and dividing our party, she continues to fail her own Democratic purity test with questionable relationships with Matt Gaetz and corporate interests,” said Crist spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez.

Fried said Tuesday that Gaetz has changed since his days in the Florida Legislature, and he is not a friend and a "very dangerous" person.

Crist previewed his “Hope For Florida” tour Monday at a Tallahassee meeting held at a historic Black church, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, once led by civil rights leader the Rev. C. K. Steele.

The current pastor, the Rev. R.B. Holmes, Jr., hosted a gathering of Crist and more than 50 Black pastors and reverends.

He introduced Crist as “my friend over the years” and as "bright and brilliant and bold.”

Crist focused on his record and the job at hand.

He told stories from his term as Florida’s Republican governor, when he defied his own party by extending the hours for early voting during the 2008 presidential election, when Democrat Barack Obama carried Florida.

Crist also touted how he had restored voting rights to ex-felons during his term, a move that drew applause from those gathered even though the policies were reversed by his successor, Scott and the Florida Cabinet.

And he drew a contrast between how he conducted himself as governor and DeSantis' conduct.

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“That’s what justice is about. That’s what doing the right thing is about,” said Crist. “This election is about good versus bad. It’s not even ideological right versus wrong. And Ron is wrong.”

The Crist camp is confident it will prevail in the primary competition against Fried. The Hill reports it has purchased $20 million of television ads to begin running in September.

When asked to contrast himself with his primary opponent, Crist was restrained.

“Experience. More than anything, it’s experience,” Crist said. “I mean, I’ve done this. I’ve been your governor before … We need somebody who goes into this job who doesn’t need on-the-job training, and I certainly don’t."

Crist spent Tuesday in Pensacola and has stops planned Wednesday in Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale. Later in the week, the “Hope for Florida” tour will  be in Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami, and Orlando.

Fried’s “Something New” tour has stops planned for Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Ft. Myers, Palm Beach, Orange County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade.

The election is Aug. 23.

John Kennedy contributed to this report. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Nikki Fried vs. Charlie Crist: Closing arguments made in Tallahassee