BRISTOL, FLORIDA — Northwest Florida’s Liberty County became the latest county in the Sunshine State to flip from red to blue.
As of Tuesday morning, the county elections office shows 1,969 Republicans compared to 1,967 Democrats and 476 independent or minor party voters. The county has a population of just over 65,200 people.
Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler announced the news on Twitter – and took a swipe and Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried in the process.
Thank you @NikkiFried! You are doing an outstanding job! https://t.co/X4zQnWLs47
— Christian Ziegler 🇺🇸 (@ChrisMZiegler) April 25, 2023
In October, North Florida’s Hamilton County became the fifth GOP county to turn red in the past two years – joining Franklin, Pinellas, Hendry and Jackson counties.
Ziegler and other prominent Republicans in Florida have routinely trolled Fried since she was elected chair in February, implying that her campaign efforts often backfire and help the GOP.
Fried is an active firebrand on Twitter, often referring to Governor Ron DeSantis as a “fascist.”
While her tweets generate significant engagement, former Democrat Chair Manny Diaz lamented the online-focused strategy in his resignation letter.
“We have plenty of social media activists, not roll-up-your-sleeves volunteers. We communicate virtually, not personally,” he wrote in January. “There was no energy or sense of community or urgency. Recruiting, training and building volunteers seemed to be an afterthought. Large events and recruitment efforts, traditional tools for capturing volunteers, did not exist.”
