Six current and former lawmakers back Nikki Fried for Governor

Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried announced a round of endorsements from current and former Democratic state House members Tuesday.

Reps. Kristen Arrington of Kissimmee, Joe Casello of Boynton Beach and Kelly Skidmore of Boca Raton all back Fried. Former Reps. Margaret Good of Sarasota, Cindy Polo of Miramar and Jennifer Webb of St. Petersburg also offered their support.

“I am honored to have the backing of these leaders,” Fried said. “In their communities and in Tallahassee, they fought for a Florida where working people come first, not the corporate special interests and well-connected donors. I’m proud to stand with them in building something new for our state.”

The three sitting representatives hail from heavily Democratic areas in Central and South Florida, and their support could prove valuable to Fried, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, as she faces U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and state Sen. Annette Taddeo in a Democratic Primary.

Arrington won a six-person Democratic Primary in House District 43 last year. No Republican ran for the seat. Casello and Skidmore both won General Election races last year with more than 59% of the vote.

Good, Polo and Webb, meanwhile, are all veterans of battleground districts and earned their House seats flipping red districts. Fried may hope their experience helps in her effort to upset Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and prevent his re-election.

Good won a Special Election in 2018 and held onto the seat the following November. She did not seek a second full term in 2020, instead pursuing an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House against long-time U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.

Polo in 2018 won over Republican Frank Mingo in one of the biggest upsets of that election cycle. But she lost the South Florida seat last fall to Republican Tom Fabricio. Webb similarly won in 2018 over Republican Ray Blacklidge, but lost two years later to Republican Linda Chaney.

Good and Webb have not made clear if they will seek office again in 2022. Polo has said she will not seek office this election cycle. Good has since worked on an effort to boost Democratic registration in Southwest Florida.