Florida U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon speaking to supporters after her stunning victory in the Democratic primary (Photo courtesy of Facebook).

By David L. Snelling

Former Democratic Florida state Rep. and current U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon is deemed a controversial figure.

She was panned for using a bullhorn during a special session when the Florida Legislation voted to approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting map to help Republicans gain more seats in Congress.

Nixon, 42, was subsequently arrested for staging a sit-in at DeSantis’ office in protest of the new redrawn map.

Before launching her bid for the U.S. Senate, her own Democratic colleges started distancing themselves from her due to her socialism views and her positions on Israel also concerned Democrats.

Nixon introduced a resolution in the state House one month after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023 that called for a “de-escalation and ceasefire in the state of Israel and occupied Palestine.”

But after pulling off a stunning upset in the U.S. Senate race during the August 18, 2026 Democratic primary, Nixon, from Jacksonville, is making a believer out of the Democratic Party which has united behind her campaign in an effort to unseat Republican Senator Ashley Moody.

Moody, a former Attorney General, was appointed senator to replace Marco Rubio who was named Secretary of State by President Donald Trump and won the primary with 80 percent of the vote.

Nixon won the Democratic primary with 54 percent of the vote over Alex Vinman who picked up 47 percent.

“We were outspent 13-to-1 by the political establishment, and we won anyway,” Nixon said during her victory speech. “That’s not a fluke. That’s what happens when everyday people decide they’re done being told to wait their turn. We beat big money once already. Let’s do it again.”

Democrats predicted a win for Vinman, a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel who served as the Director of European Affairs for the National Security Council.

He came to national attention in 2019 as a witness in Congress’s impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump during the Trump–Ukraine scandal.

Vinman was confident he would win the race, raising $15 million and spending a small portion, saying he was saving the rest to challenge Moody in November.

Despite his defeat, Vindman said he is throwing his support behind Nixon and launched a fundraiser blitz to help her beat Moody and the GOP.

Vindman said he is donating his massive war chest to support Nixon and lead voting drives throughout Florida ahead of the November 3 general election.

“There are no hard feelings here,” Vindman said on social media. “Here in Florida, we have a governor’s race, and House races we need to win to take back the chamber, and of course the Senate race. So, my campaign has made a $400,000 contribution to the Florida Democratic Party.”

Vindman said Democrats uniting despite their differences gives them the best chance to win the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion in years.

But massive fundraising is key to a victory for the Democratic Party, he said.

“Over the course of the next few days and weeks, we are going to make more contributions to the places that will matter most,” Vindman said. “Because I want you to know that your support is going where you intended: to help elect Democrats everywhere and to put a check on Donald Trump’s power. Our campaign received a record number of individual donations, more than almost 500,000 of them from people who want Democrats to win everywhere.
“It’s only right that the money continues to go toward that.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly, a former Republican U.S. Rep., who switched parties, said he doesn’t support socialism but hopes Nixon wins her bid to become the first Black U.S. senator.

“I reject socialism. I embrace capitalism,” he told reporters after his victory party in Miami Lakes. “I reject the DS (Democratic Socialists of America).

But Jolly said he’s willing to work with Nixon despite their differences to flip seats in Florida.

Nixon’s political platform focuses on issues including affordability, expanding access to healthcare and job growth programs to empower underserved people who have been struggling to make ends meet amid a declining economy.

“If wanting your neighbor to afford their insulin is radical, then call me a radical,” Nixon said during her victory speech. “If believing a mother shouldn’t have to work three jobs just to keep a roof over her head is extreme, then call me extreme.”

Nixon added: “I believe that the hardworking people of Florida should be front and center in our policy making, not billionaires. It’s that simple. It’s time to put working families back on top.”

And Nixon isn’t shying away as she prepares for an uphill battle against Moody and the GOP.

“Ashley Moody can call it whatever she wants,” Nixon said. “She can call us whatever she wants. But in November, she will call me senator.”

But Nixon is already causing an uproar in the Democratic Party after her upset victory.

She said if elected as Florida’s senator, she will likely not support Chuck Schumer for Senate Democratic leader.

“When I’m senator, I’m looking elsewhere for leadership,” she said on CNN. “And, I mean, we need to make sure that we have people who are centered on people, who are working for people.”

Moody didn’t waste any time taking shots at Nixon following their primary victories.

Moody shared a repost video of Nixon in an interview where he discusses drag shows.

In the video, Nixon said: “I don’t understand… There’s no sexualization at a drag show. It’s just people singing and performing. “I’ve taken my children to drag shows, and it’s fun, it’s entertainment, it’s wholesome entertainment, and it’s nothing wrong.”

Florida Republicans reportedly have consistently criticized drag shows for allegedly being over sexualized performances.

Moody said: “This is Angie Nixon,” a Socialist’s revelation that she has taken her children to the live performances.”

Nixon was born on February 27, 1984, in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in the city’s northside, a predominantly African American working-class community with historical ties to civil rights activism.

She attended local public schools, including those associated with James Weldon Johnson, and graduated from Stanton College Preparatory School.

Nixon earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Florida in 2007, where she held leadership roles such as the inaugural State of the Black Student Union Director.

Before entering politics, Nixon worked as a community organizer and higher education director for the SEIU Florida Public Services Union, advocating for public sector workers and labor rights.

She also co-founded the Melanin Market in 2017, an outdoor marketplace promoting minority-owned businesses and healthy food access in underserved Jacksonville neighborhoods

Seeking history as the first Black U.S. senator in Florida, Nixon needs massive support from diverse voters in the state, but Republicans might have an advantage at the polls in November.

Florida has about 5.5 million registered Republicans and 4.3 million Democrats, as of May 2026, according to neurelect.com.

But according to a study, some Republicans, whose family members are immigrants, may not support Make America Great Again (MAGA) candidates tied to DeSantis and Trump due to reportedly detainees’ harsh treatments at Alligator Alcatraz and other detention centers, and the presidents’ effort to end Temporary Protection Status.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried admitted that socialism is not selling as easily in Florida, which is home to many people who escaped communist or socialist regimes.

“You know, we have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people that call Florida home, that left communists and socialists and authoritarian regimes to find a better way of life here in the state of Florida,” Fried said, explaining that any candidate who wants to win in Florida has to “build a coalition.”

Fried said that means that the coalition has to be Democrat, Republican, Independent, and to take the values of “those of us here in the state of Florida.”

“We are different, and we attest to the candidates that have been showing up and winning here in the state of Florida,” Fried said.

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