Six-figure Her Bold Move donation heads to Nikki Fried campaign with #VoteProChoice endorsement

Nikki Fried is shifting her star power to electing pro-choice Democrats.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s bid for Governor is gaining steam this week with the help of a pair of groups focused on electing progressive women who back reproductive rights.

On Wednesday, Fried’s campaign announced the endorsement of #VoteProChoice, which since 2016 has worked to mobilize the nation’s electorate in support of pro-abortion rights candidates at every level of government.

The announcement comes on the heels of Kansas voters rejecting a constitutional amendment to ban abortion in the state, the first ballot test of abortion rights in America since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

It also follows a Tuesday commitment by Rhode Island-headquartered group Her Bold Move to provide Fried’s political committee, Florida Consumers First, with a six-figure donation “with plans to ramp up contributions as they arrive.”

Florida Politics reached out to Fried’s campaign to determine how much the donation is for but received no response by press time.

Fried, who faces U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and fellow Democratic candidates Cadance Daniel and Robert Willis in a Primary Election this month, attributed the new endorsement and funding infusion to a coast-to-coast movement to ensure the freedom of women.

She also took a dig at Crist — who has said he is “pro-choice, but not pro-abortion” and voted for a ban on abortion later in pregnancy despite generally supporting abortion rights his whole political career — and promised to take action to safeguard women’s bodily autonomy immediately after she takes over as Governor.

“Voters want pro-choice Governors, and in Florida, there’s only one of us running who has never tried to ban abortion and take away reproductive freedom,” Fried said in a statement. “On Day 1 of a Fried Administration, we will fight for women, fight for freedom, and use the full weight of the Governor’s office to ensure emergency protections and fight for a pro-choice constitutional amendment.”

Her Bold Move, which endorsed Fried in April, is “fundraising aggressively” for this year’s elections and “having a lot of success,” according to Jordan Zaslow, the group’s founder.

Zaslow described Florida’s governorship as the state’s “highest glass ceiling” and said Fried will be the one to shatter it. Over Florida’s 200 years of Governors, none has ever been a woman.

“We founded Her Bold Move because too many qualified female candidates were getting left behind by the very groups that were supposed to be looking out for them. This particular race illustrates the issue perfectly,” Zaslow said.

“Nikki Fried is the only consistently pro-choice candidate in this race. In fact, both of her leading opponents (Crist and Gov. Ron DeSantis) have said they are ‘pro-life.’ At a time when women’s health, safety, and lives are at risk, we cannot afford to elect anything less than pro-choice champions. Fried is highly qualified, she is proven, she is ready — and her message is resonating, (and we) want to show every little girl in Florida and around the country what’s possible.”