Florida Dems Scramble To Regroup After Nixon Upset

MIAMI — Progressive Angie Nixon's stunning upset in Florida's Senate race has many Democrats in the state spiraling.

The Jacksonville lawmaker’s primary victory on Tuesday night over retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman jolted a state few thought would hold any surprises. But it also rattled Democrats who worry about her chances against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody in a state that hasn’t picked a Democrat for Senate since 2012.

They’re concerned about Nixon’s ability to team up with other candidates and fundraise for down-ballot hopefuls — as Vindman appeared poised to do with his “resistance movement,” Trump-impeachment-era fundraising network. They’re also worried about her more contentious positions, including her decision to join the Democratic Socialists of America in June, in a state where Republicans have 1.5 million more registered voters than Democrats.

Her positions on Israel also concern 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.”

“I’m still digesting last night,” Democratic state Rep. Mike Gottlieb of Davie, chair of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus, said in an interview after pausing for a long time when asked whether he would be voting for Nixon. “She’s got some convincing to do to win me over.”

Yet many of Nixon’s supporters — and even those who were skeptical of her initially — defended her candidacy. Without her, Democratic voters were staring down the possibility of an all-white or Hispanic ballot statewide at a time when Black voters in Florida have faced restrictions on voting rights and diminished representation. Nixon also has presented herself as a pugilist who has shown she can invigorate the Democratic base.

“There's just a lot of energy across the state for her because she's a fighter, and people want Democrats who are going to fight,” said Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, who endorsed Nixon and is the only Gen Z member of Congress. “The problem with the Democratic Party right now isn't the fact that people don't agree with us on policy. … The problem is they think Democrats are too weak to get it done, or that we won't be able to get it done.”

Former longtime legislator Steve Geller, now a Democratic Broward County commissioner, said he thought her candidacy could help bring out voters who might otherwise skip the ballot box, helping gubernatorial nominee David Jolly and candidate for attorney general José Javier Rodríguez, both Democrats.

“I was stunned,” he said. “I don't know where this came from, but as someone who is helping David a lot, I think it was good for David. I think it costs us any chance of winning the U.S. Senate statewide.”

Other Democrats say there are downsides to having Nixon at the top of the ticket. They worry she’ll struggle in a general election given the large number of Latino voters who live in Florida, many of whom are more conservative than those in other parts of the U.S. and who have deeply held negative associations with the word “socialism” after fleeing left-wing regimes in places like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Moody’s campaign on Wednesday drew attention to Nixon’s DSA pledge and her campaigning alongside progressive “Squad” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in a fundraising email. And Kevin Cooper, Miami-Dade GOP chair, pointed to the socialist label and said the county GOP would be highlighting “exactly what that ideology represents and reject it wholeheartedly at the ballot box.” Many Democrats in Florida know this playbook has worked against them in recent cycles.

“The word ‘socialist’ is difficult to hear because it triggers horrific memories for the Hispanic community at the state level and nationally because that communist rhetoric is exactly what they fled,” said Macarena Iglesias, president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida. “And many lost everything, including the lives of loved ones.”

One Democratic operative from Florida, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said it was a “major mistake” for Nixon to have branded herself as a Democratic socialist, particularly given that she probably could have won the Democratic nomination for Senate without doing so.

The DSA last week put out a statement celebrating the centenary of longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and the operative said that unless Nixon denounces “some of the unacceptable planks” of the organization, it would show she has “no interest” in winning or allowing other Democrats to win.

“She can be a 140-pound anchor on everyone now unless she acknowledges and walks back some of the unacceptable and radioactive planks of the DSA platform that are anathema to most Florida voters,” the person said.

Other Democrats are concerned about Nixon’s position of cutting U.S. aid to Israel, in a state with a significant Jewish population. Gottlieb — who issued a statement opposing last weekend’s rally with Tlaib that was relocated twice — accused Nixon of being an ineffective legislator and “divisive personality” to the Democratic caucus.

“She’ll bring out a lot of women voters, a lot of Black voters and a lot of Democrats who are feeling the financial squeeze of the Trump administration and feel she’ll be an effective fighter and voice for them in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “The caveat to that is that down the ballot, the DSA candidates like her did not have the same success. Is it an Angie Nixon phenomenon or is it a DSA phenomenon? I believe in this case it was simply her and great marketing on her part, as well as the fact that I don’t think Vindman made the same connection with voters as she did.”

Vindman had only been living in Florida for a handful of years before deciding to run for Senate. From the time he entered the primary, he was treated like the inevitable Democratic nominee, landing glowing media profiles, raising $1.7 million in the first 24 hours and quickly racking up endorsements from sitting senators. His attacks in the contest focused on Moody, not on Nixon, and he even scheduled a fundraiser in Nantucket after the primary.

Nixon, meanwhile, attended many forums she was invited to and implored Vindman to debate her — but he would not. Progressive organizations like Florida Rising canvassed on her behalf, as did Frost’s political operation, and Tlaib traveled to Florida to campaign alongside her. Nixon branded her campaign in her signature hot pink and grabbed attention during Republicans’ rare mid-decade redistricting, when she yelled into a hot pink megaphone on the state House floor, then staked out the governor’s office until police forced her to leave.

Vindman’s campaign said he ultimately raised more than $20 million between his campaign and political committee, and he will now be appearing alongside Nixon at the state Democrats’ unity rally on Saturday in Orlando. Nixon notched a decisive, 12-point win with less than $1 million in the bank while promising to become “the biggest pain in Donald Trump’s ass.”

Vindman, who’d held back on making Trump the centerpiece of his campaign despite his role in the president’s first impeachment, acknowledged in his concession statement that Nixon ran a “strong campaign.”

Nixon was not immediately available for an interview but previously defended her foreign policy positions as supporting “the safety and dignity of all people, every day and everywhere, and especially children and families.”

She downplayed her DSA pledge shortly after she announced it (the group did not endorse her) and even shunned the label “progressive” when she launched her campaign in January. In a statement issued after winning Tuesday’s primary, she said voters “made it clear they want someone who will fight for the change that actually helps their lives such as lower costs, higher wages, Medicare for All, and a people-powered government that prioritizes families.”

On Tuesday night, Jolly immediately distanced himself from Nixon’s more controversial positions, including on Israel and on socialism, after the Senate race was called. But he also praised her fighting spirit and said they’d be able to work together on some issues.

“In the rooms where I saw her, she was talking about housing, health care and education,” Jolly said. “She was talking about the basic economic opportunities and empowerment of more people. She really was very disciplined. So, where we can agree on those messages, we're going to work together.”