Donna Deegan had her reasons for missing Nikki Fried photo-op

Antisemitism has no place in Jacksonville, says Donna Deegan and Nikki Fried.

Republicans are roiled by a Jacksonville mayoral candidate not appearing with the chair of the Florida Democrats this weekend.

Donna Deegan was absent during a “day of action” with FDP Chair Nikki Fried Saturday, a point made repeatedly by Republican Party of Florida Chair Chris Ziegler and Vice Chair Evan Power after a video surfaced of Fried and Democratic candidates that didn’t include the mayoral hopeful.

Was she ducking Fried, who famously endorsed her before she became chair of the state party? Deegan says no.

“I had multiple events already scheduled across Jacksonville (Saturday),” Deegan told us Saturday evening.

Those events included “yet another Northside mayoral candidate forum that Daniel Davis skipped.”

Deegan provided her schedule.

At 8:00 a.m., she had a 5k race with the Open Arms Ed group.

At 10:00 a.m., she was at a prostate cancer event.

At 11:00 a.m., she was at a Day of Action canvass.

The aforementioned mayoral forum ran from 1 to 3 p.m., and she then had a 6:30 fundraiser.

“Nikki is here to help and I appreciate her. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Deegan said. “Lord, I am so tired of political theater.”

The theater continues, of course, through the May 16 General Election.

“So Fried went to Duval County and there are no photos of her and Deegan? Are people afraid to be seen with Nikki,” wondered Power.

“Heard she avoided her State Chairman like the plague… wonder why? Anyone know if that is true,” asked Ziegler.

“Deegan is trying to sneak in her Radical Defund Police Agenda. You’ll see it if she wins,” Ziegler added.

Stretch run controversy continues in this race, with Davis under fire for not attending a Wednesday mayoral forum on television, which organizers say was in the plans since January. Davis has an event at the Fraternal Order of Police building, where he and wife Rebekah will have a “conversation with parents” rather than Jacksonville television viewers.