These three Democrats, who have been locked out of the trifecta of majority control over the state legislature and governorships since 1992 are trying to regain Tallahassee's top office for the first-time since 1998.

Florida Governor. He is a favorite of the GOP base because he has fought against pandemic restrictions. Ron DeSantis has been a rising star and is a contender for the 2024 Republican presidential primary elections.

He will have to defeat one of his opponents in 2022 to get there.

Insider spoke to three of them: Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor; Nikki Fried, Florida's Agriculture Commissioner; and Annette Taddeo (Florida State Senator).

While DeSantis' approval ratings declined a bit during the pandemics, he is still the seventh most beloved governor in the nation and helped President Donald Trump win the Sunshine State by a healthy margin (3 percentage points). DeSantis' comments, culture war clashes, and other remarks have raised his profile on cable TV. He has been fining hospitals that require staff members to get COVID-19 vaccinations and mandating that public universities teach opposing political views or risk losing their funding.

Some Florida political observers have declared that any Democratic candidate who beat DeSantis is a long shot because of their statewide dominance in Florida since the mid-1990s.

Insider requested no comment from DeSantis's office.

Each of these candidates were interviewed by Nicholas Carlson, Insider's Global Editor in Chief. The responses were lightly edited to ensure clarity and length.

Insider: What did President Biden do wrong in Florida in 2020?

Fried: We didn't fight back. There was much chaos. We only spent enough money to get Trump to spend more money in the state. We didn't have any game plan for the Hispanic population. We didn't have any game plan to combat the socialism narrative. We were not organized. We were not on the ground. We let the narrative and the rhetoric control the airwaves.

Crist The Democratic Party did not have a ground game. It was probably for the right reasons. It was not the ideal environment to knock on doors and spread the pandemic. My hope and prayer is that the virus will recede by next fall, when we have a strong field program.

Voter registration is also very important. We have seen the number of registered voters drop for the Democratic Party in the state.

Thirdly, fighting back against socialism or any other form of it -- especially in Miami-Dade South Florida, where such a message has an even better chance of sticking than anywhere else in the U.S.A. simply because so many of our residents have come from such regimes. You know, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba. Instead of just ignoring it, I have been fighting back against that.

It is possible to fight back and make a huge difference, rather than being silent about the problem.

TaddeoIt's more than just the Biden campaign. It's also Democrats and has been going on for quite some time. To be precise, it's been going on for a while. It is the loss of Hispanic votes and the inability to defend outrageous attacks, but still successful attacks -- often directed at Democrats. This is how campaigns have been done in Miami, Florida. And South Florida in particular.

It seems to have grown throughout and has certainly made inroads within the Hispanic community. That's my criticism before and after Biden.

It didn't work for me because I fought back and fought hard. We did it using my personal story. Even if you don’t have a personal story to tell, you have to keep fighting back. It's almost as if you were in a fight ring and keep getting big blows to the head, then eventually you start bleeding. You have to fight back. I will fight for you.

Insider: Senator Taddeo could you describe the differences between progressive Democrats, and some of the socialist governments that the Florida GOP compares your party with?

Taddeo When it comes to issues I know that most people in my area are looking forward to turning 65 to get Medicare. That is a Democratic Party policy. No one, not even Republicans, would say "Oh, I'm 65, I don’t want it because it's a government giveaway." It's not. It's the same with Social Security, for instance. I haven't seen anyone sending back a check.

We as Democrats must do a better job explaining the meaning of these programs and why they are so popular. Throughout the United States' history, Democrats have brought more people into middle class. They have had programs that have been around for a long time and no politician would want to take them back.

Insider: Since 1992, there has not been a trio of Democratic governorships and the Florida legislature. Since 1997, both chambers of the legislature have been controlled by Republicans. How can you make sure that things go your way as governor?

FriedI am a master at bringing people together. That's what I am now, having been elected. Because I can work with Republicans and work across the aisle, I passed most of my bills in the first legislative session. They all know me. Seven years of government consulting experience has given me a good understanding of the incoming leadership. I am familiar with the current leadership. There are also two very powerful tools, one for each.

The veto pen is one, and the second is calling for special session or calling back the legislature into session. If they refuse to cooperate with me, then they will become a full time legislator. Although this is not something I would love to use, there are many things we can work together on.

Insider - Why do you think DeSantis does not want cruise ships to have the ability to verify that passengers have been vaccinated?

Crist I can't believe that he would oppose a safety-first policy. This is what the cruise industry wants desperately, and for good reason. They want to ensure the safety of their crew members. They want to protect customers. They want to run a successful business and do the right things. It's hard to understand why this is unacceptable to the governor in the third largest state in the nation. It's certainly hurting him.

It seems to me (and I think a lot more people) that he is auditioning for the hard-right Republican primary vote in the 2024 presidential election.

He's done a lot on COVID. This has resulted in over 55,000 Floridians losing their lives. You know that I'm not advocating the use of masking or social distancing. All for the cause, God knows what. The results were terrible.

Taddeo It is not policy. It's all about Iowa primary voters, which has nothing whatsoever to do with Floridians. This is why I believe we need a governor who will actually represent all Floridians, and not just Iowa primary voters. This is what we have.

Look, I am a Trump representative, and I can assure you that I do not only represent those who voted for Trump, but I also represent all of them. Your positions may not be liked by everyone. However, you must look out for the best interests of all people and not just your political ambitions. It's outrageous.

FriedHe started a culture war with COVID. It was the vaccine or masks. He took the position, which was that of a very small minority in our state, that he would not allow our businesses to ask or require that our consumers get vaccinated. This is contrary to everything I know about the Republican party, which advocates free markets and allows businesses to do what they think is best for their customers.

Insider - What would you do differently to manage the pandemic?

Taddeo I have many disagreements with DeSantis, and many criticisms in regards to, obviously, our children's safety. Then there's trying to ban masks from schools and trying not to elect people. Let's just say that I am a mother first and foremost with a daughter who attends public school. That was something I felt he had done that was unacceptable.

If a governor is trying to dictate to private businesses what they should do, then go back to Latin America dictatorships. You are trying to penalize businesses for doing what is best for their business after they have had to deal with the global pandemic.

Do you think it will be an issue on Election Day? It is likely to be an issue. It should be an issue. It may not be. We are still more than a year away.

FriedHe caused chaos by not providing accurate information. He also created this culture war and became very angry at journalists, dividing the state. People are supposed to unite in times of chaos. After 9/11, you saw this. After hurricanes or fires in the west, you can see this. These tragedies bring people together. He created chaos instead. He attacked our local schools as well as our local officials to divide our state. When it came to COVID response, it was his decision.

It would be very different for me. Transparent. All information available. People, reporters, and communities in the local area were constantly asking for information during this pandemic. It could have been information about nursing homes, information from our schools, or information coming from the jails. And we never got accurate information. It made people question science and made them doubt government. This created a frenzy in the state. He was MIA during the Delta surge. After his seniors and donors had received the vaccine, he didn't encourage them to get it.

Crist I would have listened the CDC. I would have listened carefully to the healthcare providers. Science would have been respected by me. I would have respected Dr. Fauci, rather than mocking him. I would have advocated for the vaccination. It's true, I am a member in Congress. Just got a boost. To encourage others, we posted a picture on social media. I would have supported mask wearing. Social distancing would be something I would support. I would follow the science and listen to the CDC.

Insider: Rep. Crist: Do you believe that DeSantis' handling COVID will be a topic on voters' minds in November 2022?

CristThe conventional wisdom is that they have a very short memory and forget things when things get better. This is true, at least, if you are talking about teacher salaries. This is a totally different story when you consider the over 55,000 Floridians who have died.

I live in St. Pete, in Pinellas County. Pinellas County does not have a mandate for masks. My five-year old niece went to elementary school. She was diagnosed with COVID. It was brought home by her. Two-month-old sister of hers has COVID. These are the kinds of stories that are real, personal, and that matter. They aren't forgotten.

They're remembered. They're vivid. They're vivid. Our campaign is up 10 points in the latest poll. This is quite dramatic.

Insider - Do you support government mandates that citizens get vaccinated in order to be able to use public spaces such as schools, workplaces and airplanes?

Fried I am not yet there on government mandates. My preference is for businesses to make decisions about their businesses. This applies whether they are their employees or customers. I support letting each local government make their own decisions.

TaddeoLook I believe the federal government is entitled to impose certain mandates. It has been done before. This is how we eliminated polio. It's amazing that we are having this conversation about how we got rid of polio. History has shown us that this is the best way to get rid. We should, frankly, do this once and for all. However, I believe that if you try to dictate to businesses what they should do or to the local communities what is best for them, that's an indication that you are not fulfilling your role.

Crist The truth is that we already do it for a lot of vaccines for school - measles and mumps, just to name a few. There are almost double the number of viruses we vaccinate against. Now we have to deal with the pandemic that has been the most fatal in more than 100 years. It even outnumbered the 1918 and 1919 Spanish flu pandemics. This is the most devastating event in human history. If now isn’t the right time, I don’t know when.

If I was governor, I would require all state employees to have their vaccines. Yes, I know there might be religious concerns. As much as I can, I'd try to be respectful. They might have to work remotely to respect others who have chosen to get the vaccine, despite being strongly encouraged by the Crist-run state government.