Peter Schorsch
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.
