Democrat Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is running to challenge Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, allegedly presented a more moderate agenda on the Spanish page of her campaign website than on the English page, Newsweek reported Monday.
Two hours after journalists requested for comment, Fried’s team reportedly changed the Spanish and English sections of the website to more closely mirror each other, according to the publication.
“Our website copy, now updated, was in the process of being properly and professionally translated,” Max Flugrath, communications director for Fried’s campaign told Newsweek.
Newsweek was able to archive the website before it was changed. According to the publication, the original Spanish page on Fried’s campaign site was 95 words long, and the only policy mentioned was Fried’s support for legalizing marijuana. In contrast, the English page notes Fried’s more leftist agenda, including criminal justice reform, gun control, and the environment.
Florida has the third largest population of Latino voters behind California and Texas, according to a Pew Research Center study. Overall, the Latino population made up a record 17% of the state’s voters in 2020.
The Hispanic vote in Florida has been shifting more toward the GOP in recent years. While former President Donald Trump did not win the Latino vote in the 2020 election, Cubans were overwhelming split 56-41 for the Republican incumbent compared to an even 49-49 split between non-Cuban voters, AS/COA reported.
