Florida Department of Agriculture head Nikki Fried is officially running for governor. The state's only statewide elected Democrat filed papers with the Department of Elections on Tuesday that showed she plans to take on incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022.

It’s time to break the rigged, corrupt system in Florida with #SomethingNew.
That’s why I’m running for Governor.
Join us at https://t.co/pSDjoC7HWW. pic.twitter.com/Vzb1MnBuSB
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) June 1, 2021

Fried has been an outspoken critic of DeSantis since they both took office in 2019. She's long been expected to challenge the governor for his seat and the paperwork shows that Fried plans to do just that. Eight Democrats, two independents and two Republicans have filed to run, notably not including DeSantis.

Fried's biggest competition from her own side of the aisle (so far) will be Charlie Crist. The former governor (and ex-Republican) announced he was challenging DeSantis as a Democrat last month.

This article first appeared at our sister publication Orlando Weekly.

This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2021.