New Internal Poll Shows Nikki Fried With Highest Favorability in Democrat Field

May 6, 2022 Updated 10:27 A.M. ET

RALEIGH (FLV) – A new internal poll shows Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried with the highest favorability among Democrats in the Governor’s race, according to a Florida Politics report. 

The campaign commissioned Public Policy Polling to find out where Fried stands as she faces U.S. Representative Charlie Crist in the race for the Democratic nomination. 

Fried was the “most popular candidate in the race” with a +35 net favorability rating while the poll showed Crist at +28 favorability. 

Fried has a +25 favorability rating among Latino voters and Crist has -5 unfavorable rating among the same demographic.  

The Fried campaign’s internal poll is in stark contrast to the RealClearPolitics average that shows Crist leading at 41% and Fried sitting at 21.7%. Democrat Senator Annette Taddeo is also vying for the seat. 

The Democratic nominee will go head to head with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the general election for the Governor’s seat. DeSantis leads both candidates in every major poll. 

DeSantis leads at 50.4% with Crist at 41.6%, and leads Fried by 12.8 points. 

Governor DeSantis’ campaign has focused on his accomplishments while in office. The Governor touts his record to remove critical race theory materials and discussions from schools and keep parents in the loop with their children’s education. He frequently talks about his pro-life and pro-family legislation as well as efforts to keep the economy smoothly running in Florida. 

Both the Fried and Crist campaigns have targeted their campaign messages towards attacking DeSantis. Crist has focused his attacks on DeSantis’ recent legislation stripping Disney of its “special privileges” and the education department’s decision to strip CRT from math books. Fried has tailored her campaign to focus on housing affordability in Florida. Both Democratic candidates are staunch pro-abortion advocates.