Nikki Fried won’t back down — and she’s got the rights to the classic song boosting her

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried might be down in the polls and fundraising to become Florida’s next Governor, but she is not backing down.

And now she has the rights to use the late Tom Petty’s 33-year-old song to back her up.

The iconic Floridian’s song, “I won’t back down” — an ear worm still getting radio play — was used at Donald Trump rallies to the consternation of Petty’s family, who sent him a cease-and-desist order about it.

But now it’s playing against a montage of key moments in feminist history in a new Fried ad. There are marching suffragists, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi being handed the gavel and Sally Ride becoming the first American woman blasted into space.

But can it rocket Fried into history as Florida’s first female Governor?

“This is the most important message we’ve ever released,” Fried said. “I am standing on the shoulders of all these trailblazing women — and so is every other woman and ally fighting for women’s rights. We won’t back down. We won’t back down. We won’t back down.”

She won’t face copyright infringement issues, according to a statement her campaign provided. She is using the song with the family’s approval, the release says.

Petty’s ex-wife, Jane Benyo Petty, has endorsed Fried for Governor, the release says. The spot will be used on social media and TV ad buys to be announced later, her campaign said.

She is facing an uphill battle against Charlie Crist in the Primary competition for the Democratic nomination for Governor. St. Pete Polls last week showed little room for Fried to catch up. Fried’s fundraising last month paled in comparison to Crist’s and her would-be competition in the General, Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Fried’s new advertisement hits heavily on the idea that it’s time for something new, however, as in Florida’s first woman Governor.

After reels of suffragist marchers, tennis great Billie Jean King slamming into history, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor breaking that glass ceiling and Hillary Clinton, Petty’s one-of-a-kind notes fade into Fried’s call to history through a megaphone.

“To every little girl in Florida, and across the country, we are doing this for you,” Fried says.

The advertisement wraps with a purple screen written with white type: “Make History on August 23.”