Democrat Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Loses Endorsements After Anti-Abortion Comments Surface
August 9, 2022 Updated 8:58 P.M. ET
TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – As Democrats try to stay in control of Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner seat, members of the party are rescinding their endorsements from one of the Democratic candidates after past comments against abortion surfaced.
Candidate for agriculture commissioner Naomi Blemur received a slew of Democrat endorsements, but some of those are being rescinded after past social media posts surfaced showing Blemur opposed to abortion.
A screenshot shows Blemur’s comment on news story about a pastor fighting for legal abortions and claiming abortion is consistent with christianity.
“Wow… this pastor has certainly taken a leap, and there is NO scripture to back it up,” Blemur said in a 2020 post. She continued to list scripture verses about children being known in the womb.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones and State Sen. Annette Taddeo took back their endorsements of Blemur.
“As a strong voice for reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights, I found [Blemur’s] past comments unsettling as they’ve come to light,” Jones said. “These comments run counter to my record of protecting and advancing the rights of Floridians, and I’ve retracted said support from her campaign.”
“Today, I am retracting my endorsement of Naomi Blemur for Commissioner of Agriculture. Recently, Facebook posts from Naomi have surfaced which have brought to light some of her past anti-choice and anti-lgbtq views, contrary to my strong position on these issues,” Taddeo said.
“People evolve through knowledge and humility but excuses are a poor substitute. I will be staying neutral in that primary moving forward.”
Democrat Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is leaving her post to run for governor. Democrats Naomi Blemur, J.R. Gaillot, and Ryan Morales are vying for the agriculture commissioner nomination.
Republicans have gained headway in Florida as Democratic donors pull their resources out of Florida. Democrat voter registration numbers have dipped giving Republicans a lead of more than 200,000 registrations.
Florida Democrat Party in ‘Shambles’ as Voter Registration Dips and Party Left ‘Rudderless’
Republicans have said Democrats will be left with a leadership void in the Florida Legislature. Democratic Ranking Member Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, will not seek reelection in the Florida House in order to run for congress. Minority Leader Evan Denne, D-Dania Beach, is termed out.
State Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, was supposed to serve as the next top Democrat for the Florida House. Alexander announced he would not seek reelection in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
