John Morgan, Alex Sink hosting Nikki Fried fundraiser Thursday
Nikki Fried. (Photo: Michael Murphy)

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Democratic Agriculture Commissioner candidate Nikki Fried will be in Orlando Thursday night for a fundraiser hosted by Democratic rainmakers.

The host committee for the event includes attorney John Morgan of mega firm Morgan & Morgan, former CFO and early Fried endorser Alex Sink as well as Richard Swann, whose involvement in Democratic Party fundraising goes back decades. Also on the committee is Ruth’s List, a pro-choice group co-founded by Sink that supports Democratic women in state and local elections.

The fundraiser is set to run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Swann’s home in Orlando. According to the invitation, supporters who want to attend are being encouraged to pitch in $1,000 to the Fried campaign.

Fried, a lawyer and lobbyist specializing in medical marijuana issues, entered the Ag Commissioner race in mid-June, joining Jeffrey Porter and R. David Walker in the Democratic primary.

As of July 27, her campaign and political committee, Florida Consumers First, had brought in $228,000 in contributions and more than $166,000 at the ready. That puts her atop the primary field, but she has a ways to go to catch up to the well-funded Republicans vying to succeed term-limited Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Both Lehigh Acres Rep. Matt Caldwell and Sebring Sen. Denise Grimsley have cleared more than $2 million raised with more than $1 million in the bank. A third Republican, former state Rep. Baxter Troutman, has thrown $3 million of his own money behind his campaign.

The nominees for each party will be decided in the Aug. 28 primary election. The winners will go head-to-head on the November ballot.

The fundraiser invitation is below.

Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including Florida Politics and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Schorsch is also the publisher of INFLUENCE Magazine. For several years, Peter's blog was ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.



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