‘Just f***ing vote’: Nikki Fried makes closing pitch to Jax Dems

The Chair of the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is invoking a seven-letter word starting with an “F” in her get-out-the-vote message for Jacksonville.

Unlike the word “Florida,” however, the urging from Nikki Fried isn’t printable without at least a few asterisks.

FDP Chair Fried invoked a recent encounter with the law in Tallahassee in justifying the salty language.

“A couple of weeks ago I was arrested outside City Hall, protesting, wearing a shirt that said, ‘Just F***ing Vote.’ That’s exactly what we need the city of Jacksonville to be doing,” Fried urged. “Go out and f***ing vote.”

The Duval County Democratic Party shared the video, calling it a “blunt message” from the party leader.

Fried was arrested last month in Tallahassee alongside Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book and others in a protest of the state’s movement toward a six-week abortion ban in the so-called “Heartbeat Protection Act.”

A news release from the Tallahassee police said protesters were allowed to use the property during “normal operating hours” and told to leave. When the 11 people who had been sitting in a circle refused to leave, they were charged with trespassing.

“TPD encourages individuals exercising their First Amendment right of peaceful assembly to do so in accordance with the law,” a statement from Tallahassee police read. “TPD supports non-disruptive demonstrations and works diligently to protect and uphold the rights of citizens every day.”

Fried’s foul-mouthed GOTV message comes at a pivotal point in the election, which is finalized Tuesday. Early voting and vote-by-mail are ongoing, and the trend has been Democratic thus far. With a little more than 15% turnout already, Democrats have 45.7% of the voter participation, Republicans 41.9%, with the rest coming from no-party or third-party registrants.

Though turnout is trending Democratic, it is also trending geriatric. Andrew Pantazi of The Tributary notes that the average voter thus far is 66 years old, and two-thirds of voters have been at least 60 years of age.

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Anne Geggis of Florida Politics contributed to this report.