Nikki Fried

Nicole Heather "Nikki" Fried ( FREED; born December 13, 1977) is an American politician, lawyer, and lobbyist serving as the chair of the Florida Democratic Party since 2023. Before she was elected chair, she served as the 12th Florida commissioner of agriculture from 2019 to 2023. As of 2026, she is the last Democrat to have held or won statewide office in Florida. Fried graduated from the University of Florida in 2003 and went on to earn her Juris Doctor from the Levin College of Law. She practiced various forms of law, including corporate law, foreclosure defense, and public defense. She later worked as a lobbyist for the marijuana industry. In 2018, Fried narrowly defeated state representative Matt Caldwell by a margin of 0.08%, in the Florida commissioner of agriculture election. She is the first woman to be elected to the position and was the only Democrat to win a statewide race in the 2018 Florida elections. During her tenure, she redesigned gas pump stickers, promoted a Florida gun law bill, partook in Florida v. Georgia over waters within the ACF River Basin, and appointed two lobbyists for the Florida Sugar Cane League. Fried was selected as one of 17 speakers to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. She did not seek re-election in 2022 and instead ran in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, losing the primary to Charlie Crist.