Today, the Florida Democratic Party announced a partnership with Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, the highest ranking elected Democrat in Florida. Through this partnership, Commissioner Fried will make a significant investment to purchase Voter Action Network (VAN) access for legislative candidates who need assistance and have qualified.

From Commissioner Nikki Fried on today’s announcement:

“I am proud to stand with the Florida Democratic Party, and subsidize VAN costs so that our legislative candidates can hit the ground running. As I know first hand, Florida is a state that is won or lost on the margins,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. “This investment will ensure that our legislative candidates have the resources they need, help elect Democrats across the state, and ensure a victory for Vice President Joe Biden.”

This cycle, for the first time in 20 years, there are Democratic candidates running in every State House Seat and in top tier State Senate races. While VAN is a significant cost to the Democratic Party, Commissioner Fried’s help will allow Democrats to organize in parts of Florida that haven’t had a Democratic candidate on the ballot for local office in a long time.

“We are so proud to announce this partnership and we are thankful to Commissioner Fried for taking on this expense on behalf of our legislative candidates,” said Terrie Rizzo, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party. “With the establishment of the Elections Department at the Florida Democratic Party, we are supporting hundreds of Democrats running for local, county, and state offices throughout the state. We look forward to continuing our work with our amazing roster of candidates and winning critical local elections this November.”

“We are so grateful that Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Democratic Party is ensuring that ~36 Democratic Florida State House and State Senate candidates will have access to VAN data,” said Janelle Christensen, Chair of the Environmental Caucus.