DeSantis, viewed as a GOP presidential candidate in 2024, defeated Crist by nearly 20 percentage points and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio picked up a third term with a 16.4 percentage-point victory. Republicans also captured all three state Cabinet seats, secured supermajorities in the state House and Senate, and gained four congressional seats.

And the GOP in 2021 took the lead in voter registrations in Florida, upsetting Democrats' traditional registration edge in the state.

The Republican Party of Florida responded to Fried's victory in a press release calling the Democrat a "serial grifter."

"Radical Nikki Fried who got walloped in the Democrat primary for governor will become the new face of a party that doesn't even like her," the release said. "That's on brand for a party that clearly has no bottom."

One of the first challenges for Fried will be to bring together progressive and moderate voices that haven't always agreed on the direction of the state party, which has seen national party support shrivel.

Prior to Fried's election Saturday, veteran Democratic political strategist Steve Schale said whoever replaced Diaz must have the ability to raise money, have donors' confidence and understand the challenges in swing districts. He also predicted it will take take several election cycles to rebuild the state party.

"You need somebody who understands this is very likely the last political job they'll ever have," Schale, who backed Taddeo, said during a recent episode of the Deeper Dive with Dara Kam podcast. "Whatever work is done now … is probably not going to pay dividends for two or three cycles. … I would look to the 2024 cycle as kind of getting back on the field, rebuild a good base, register voters, kind of get the confidence of donors."

Schale also advised Democrats to first focus on local elections and to stop outsourcing voter-registration and fundraising efforts, saying consultants' "financial base is built on the idea that the Democratic Party is useless."

In a Feb. 16 debate hosted by the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, candidates seeking to replace Diaz also spoke about rebuilding the party by maintaining full-time staff and moving away from hiring consultants. Such efforts will require hitting and maintaining fundraising goals, they said.

Fried at the time said the party needs a full-time financier, similar to the Democratic National Committee's finance chairman. She also said the state party should set up a "leadership council" that would include legislators, members of the party's congressional delegation, donors and activists.

"We know that the road to the presidency runs through the state of Florida. We know that Ron DeSantis' blueprint for the state, he wants to take to Washington, D.C. We are that stopgap. And so we've got to make sure that we are using all of our voices and all of our community organizing," she said during the debate.