美国国家公共电台 NPR--2 Democrats compete for the chance to unseat Florida Gov. DeSantis in November

2 Democrats² compete for the chance to unseat Florida Gov. DeSantis in November

Transcript³

Tuesday is the primary for governor to see which Democrat¹, Charlie Crist or Nikki Fried, will face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall. Christ was elected governor in 2006 as a Republican.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

States holding primaries today include Florida. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking a second term. He barely won the first time four years ago, but has since made himself one of his party's national figures, fighting culture wars and showing up in 2024 presidential polls. But in order to position himself for the presidency⁴, he would first have to win reelection, and Democrats are choosing his challenger. One is considered progressive and the other is a former Republican. Cathy Carter from our member station WUSF in Tampa reports.

CATHY CARTER, BYLINE⁵: Florida's Democratic primary pits the state's agriculture commissioner⁶, Nikki Fried, against U.S. Congressman⁷ Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida. Crist left the party in 2010 to run as an independent against Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate. He made another run for governor in 2014, this time as a Democrat, but lost to now U.S. Senator Republican Rick Scott. Crist won his seat to the U.S. House in 2016 and has been a reliable vote for the Democratic Party's agenda ever since, as one of his campaign ads highlights.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Newspapers across Florida have endorsed⁸ Charlie Crist, the Democrat with the best chance of defeating DeSantis. Crist has been a solid pro-choice vote. Crist is the only choice for governor.

CARTER: In recent days, new polls show Fried has narrowed the lead Crist has held for most of the Democratic primary campaign. A lawyer and former lobbyist for the medical marijuana industry has positioned herself as something new for Florida.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

NIKKI FRIED: I'm Nikki Fried. I'm your only statewide elected Democrat, only pro-choice Democrat, only Democrat to have never taken a dime⁹ from the NRA. I'll beat Ron DeSantis and be a governor you can finally be proud of.

CARTER: That reference to being, quote, "the only pro-choice candidate" has been a focus of the Fried campaign. She frequently hammers Crist over his past support for conservative policies, including on abortion¹⁰. In July, Florida's new 15-week abortion ban went into effect. That, coupled with the U.S. Supreme¹¹ Court's overturning of Roe¹² v. Wade¹³, has been a focal point of this primary. The candidates sparred over the issue in a recent debate. First, here's Crist.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLIE CRIST: Why do Republicans like Ron DeSantis not honor and respect a woman's right to choose? A woman's right to choose is at stake. I'm for it. I'll fight for it.

FRIED: You know, Charlie, I'm definitely not going to let you rewrite history. That is not accurate. He did veto a piece of legislation after he left the Republican Party, not because he saw the light, but because he saw the polls.

CARTER: Crist has voted consistently in favor of abortion rights while in Congress. But as Florida's one-time governor, he appointed several conservative judges to Florida's Supreme Court, which is expected to hear a legal challenge to Florida's ban. Crist supporters, meanwhile, have been highlighting some of Fried's connections to GOP politicians, including donating to several Republican candidates when she was a lobbyist and for a cordial working relationship she once had with Florida Congressman and Trump¹⁴ loyalist Matt Gaetz. But William March, a political analyst¹⁵ who has covered state politics for 30 years with several Florida newspapers, says when people cast their ballots¹⁶ today, they'll likely have another politician top of mind.

WILLIAM MARCH: For a lot of Democrats, electability against Ron DeSantis is the big issue, maybe the biggest issue, particularly for primary voters.

CARTER: DeSantis is believed to be eyeing a presidential run in 2024 and is known nationally for his increasingly hard-right stances on education, voting and abortion. And for Crist and Fried, defeating the incumbent¹⁷ will be an uphill battle. Florida Republicans have about 230,000 more registered voters than Democrats. Even so, March says he thinks reports that Democrats can't win in Florida are exaggerated, especially since the state also has about 4 million voters who are not affiliated¹⁸ with either party.

MARCH: A lot of the races have been very close - so have the presidential races - and voters have gone for progressive issues, like medical marijuana and restoring felon¹⁹ voting rights. And there is no question that abortion is affecting voters. I'm seeing it generate activism, even in local races.

CARTER: In the final days of the campaign, Crist and Fried have found something in common. Each claims they're the only candidate who can defeat DeSantis.

For NPR News, I'm Cathy Carter in Tampa.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

13 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

14 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

18 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

19 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。