Nikki Fried pulls in $330K in fundraising amid ‘campaign reset’

Nikki Fried.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried announced raising a quarter million in the last two weeks of February. She announced the haul in the context of a major campaign “reset.”

The Democrat announced she collected $254,175 in the back half of February. That’s the bulk of the $330,116 donated in February to both her individual campaign account and her political committee. She wrapped the month with $3.5 million in cash on hand.

“We aren’t messing around — we’re going to win this thing and we know people want to see strong fundraising numbers” said Matthew Van Name, senior adviser and strategic manager to Fried.

The money rolled in as Fried announced significant shake-ups to her campaign. Campaign Manager Farah Melendez parted with Fried mid-month as part of a campaign reorganization. Van Name moved into the campaign orbit after serving throughout Fried’s first term as Agriculture Commissioner as her chief of staff.

Now holding a political title, Van Name expounded on the direction of the campaign.

“So, if you look, we have all the right grassroots numbers, including 90% of our campaign contributions in-state and almost 4,000 contributions under $100,” he said.

The campaign on the last day of February set a record for 1,205 donations in a single day.

“This doesn’t just translate into paid media and staff — it’s votes, it’s volunteers, and our pathway to victory in the August Primary and the November General,” Van Name said. “We know if the grassroots are coming through for us, the bigger donors will take notice and re-engage in Florida.”

The campaign for months has trailed Charlie Crist, a Democratic Congressman and former Republican Governor, in fundraising. She also faces state Sen. Annette Taddeo in the Primary, who ran as Crist’s running mate during his 2014 run for Governor.

All the Democratic fundraising is dwarfed at the moment by incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.