The most significant race in Florida's primary election Tuesday is between the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates seeking to go against Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The race pits U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist against Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Fried is currently the only Democrat elected to a statewide office. Since being elected in 2018, Fried has been a major advocate of gun legislation as well as legalization of marijuana.
DECISION 2022
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In 2020, Fried took on a national profile as she was one of the keynote speakers at the Democratic National Convention.
Prior to being elected as Agriculture Commissioner, the 44-year-old spent years as a lawyer but then shifted to work as a lobbyist for Walt Disney World, the marijuana industry, and the Broward County School Board.
Fried is a Miami native and a graduate of the University of Florida.
Meanwhile Crist, who previously ran the state, wants his old job back at the governor's mansion.
Crist first won the governor's race in 2006, as a Republican, but chose to not run for a second term in 2010. He then went on to lose a U.S. Senate bid as an Independent, and then he ran for governor in 2014 as a Democrat and lost.
The 65-year-old has held multiple offices before and is currently a congressman representing the St. Petersburg area.
Crist has been a state senator, state's education commissioner, and attorney general, and before entering public life, he was a lawyer.
Crist is a graduate of Florida State University and Samford University’s law school.
Crist and Fried went toe-to-toe last month in their only debate, hosted by NBC 6 and Telemundo 51.
The two clashed on everything from abortion rights to affordable housing, with Fried criticizing Crist for switching parties.
"We need to make sure that we have a true Democrat, someone who will not only be able to beat Ron DeSantis, that I have been doing for four and a half years," Fried said.
Crist said he was better positioned to take on DeSantis and pointed to polls that showed him ahead of Fried.
"Let's understand what's going on here, you're losing this campaign, it's time for desperation and now it's on full display all over the state of Florida," Crist said.
The two did find common ground, agreeing with each other on affordable housing, climate change, abortion access and other issues.
The winner of the Fried-Crist matchup will face the Republican DeSantis in November. DeSantis is running unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary.
