James Carville says ‘real deal’ Nikki Fried offers ‘something new’ for Governor
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 9/1/2021-Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried speaks prior to a moment of silence to honor COVID-19 victims, Wednesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

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Former Bill Clinton campaign ace picks sides in Governor's race.

National star power surfaced in the Democratic Primary race for Florida Governor Friday, with veteran political hand James Carville signing off on a fundraising plea for Nikki Fried.

“Nikki Fried is the real deal, folks,” wrote the 77-year-old “Ragin’ Cajun,” who cheekily reminds readers that he’s the “as seen on TV” version of James Carville.

Carville came to national prominence with the rise of neoliberal Bill Clinton to the presidency decades ago, with the then-youthful former Governor of Arkansas representing moderation as an alternative to 1980s liberalism.

From neo-liberal to “Something New,” Carville’s pitch is practiced.

“You may have seen me on your TV talking about politics in primetime, and I can tell you this: Nikki Fried is the real deal,” Carville asserts. “At every turn, she’s beat expectations and gotten things done. She won a long-shot race in 2018 and has spent every day since fighting for ALL Floridians and standing up to Ron DeSantis.”

Carville did not address Fried’s other major Democratic Primary opponents, including former Gov. Charlie Crist and state Sen. Annette Taddeo. Rather, he trained his rhetorical fusillade on DeSantis, “a right-wing, authoritarian dictator who will stop at nothing to carry on (Donald) Trump’s legacy — first in Florida and then in the White House.”

Carville adds that Fried “needs our help to end his reign, win this race, and get the job done for Floridians at every corner of the state.”

The fundraising appeal comes as political observers wait for December 2021 fundraising reports from gubernatorial campaigns. These are due Monday.

Fried’s fundraising has faltered, meanwhile. She reported picking up $106,086 for her official campaign and $110,223 for her Florida Consumers First political committee in November. That was far behind Crist, who raised $805,171 in November combined through his official campaign fund and his independent committee.

DeSantis sets the pace, meanwhile. He reported raising about $6 million in November between his political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, and his newly opened re-election campaign.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


16 comments

  • Tom

    January 7, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    Really means nothing.
    Carvillle dinosaur from different era.
    Avg voter can’t stand her, fraud has a real problem. Bellicose, extreme, sarcastic and not very substantive. Likely to finish 3rd. If she is the nominee, electoral annihilation awaits her and Dems. Slap down.

    • Work At Home

      January 7, 2022 at 5:13 pm

      Dollars earning easy job to work and earn online. start now making every day more than $500 simply working from home.lli i received $19517 previous month and i gave this job only 2 hrs a day online. so simple and it doesn’t required any kind of special skills. you can run facebook then you can do this job.

      go here for info…. www­.­NEWAPP1­.­com

  • Angry

    January 7, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    Go grab your knee pads Tom. The Governor is lonely.

    • WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

      January 7, 2022 at 2:42 pm

      Not everyone resorts to your political methodology.

      • zhombre

        January 7, 2022 at 3:51 pm

        Angry has issues. He failed anger management class.

      • Tom

        January 8, 2022 at 2:35 pm

        You are a fool but that’s obvious.
        Hardly, cold hard analysis bout a awful candidate. If nominated she will lead the Dems to electoral oblivion. Feel free to support her.
        Her ethics are awful.

  • WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

    January 7, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Most voters don’t know who Carville is. He is simply irrelevant today. His comments quoted here show more opposition to the Governor than support for Fried. Fried has made herself very unpopular with the voters. Her demonstrated lack of personal and professional ethics doesn’t sit well with informed voters.

    • Tom

      January 7, 2022 at 3:58 pm

      Angry and whiskey, I know electoral politics. DeSantis is very popular!
      America’s Gov, he’s the “guy” new residents, traditional Repubs, conservative Dems. The Dems do not have a candidate, even combined!
      Clown show. You fools, Biden is neg 15 in Florida, negative in 45 states, including blue. It’s a avalanche. DeSantis wins bigly.

      Whiskey, I essentially said what you Repeated. Just saying. Nikki Fraud is a disaster. Repubs should cross over, political annihilation in Nov.

      Angry you got nothing.

      • WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

        January 8, 2022 at 6:37 pm

        I wasn’t repeating what you said, I have been commenting on Fried’s lack of ethics for over a year. Welcome aboard.

        • Tom

          January 9, 2022 at 11:11 am

          Never have seen your moniker previously. I have held Fraud accountable for a year.
          Glad you are. Her ethics are atrocious.

          • Concern Citizen

            January 9, 2022 at 4:04 pm

            Is DeSantis a smart manipulator who is morally corrupt?

  • Ron Ogden

    January 8, 2022 at 9:35 am

    A “has been” supporting a “never was”; sorta pointless, AIN’T it?

    • Tom

      January 8, 2022 at 7:48 pm

      They did a bong hit. When a retro has been consultant has to defend you, it’s not going well. I did like his quote, “it’s the economy stupid” maybe the best ever in politics.

  • Corbin Supak

    January 9, 2022 at 9:57 am

    Glad to see more support for Fried. She gets on DeSantis hard and all these gop men can’t stand it.

  • Tom

    January 9, 2022 at 11:07 am

    Yeah Corbin her support went from 1 to 2.
    Clap. Are you kidding me. She’s a joke.
    Pas the bong. She just screams insults, day after day.

  • Arch Stanton

    January 10, 2022 at 10:19 am

    Hmmmm this Nokia fried character makes me think of something about………. Oh I remember now, YES….LET’S GOOOOOOOOO BRAAAAANDON !!!! 😄😄😃😂

Comments are closed.


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