Democratic socialist Angie Nixon pulls off upset win in Florida Senate primary
Florida state legislator Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, unexpectedly defeated establishment favorite Alex Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary despite being vastly outspent. The result has rattled party leaders ahead of November's midterms.
Florida Democrats have chosen democratic socialist Angie Nixon, a state representative from Jacksonville, as their nominee to challenge Republican US Senator Ashley Moody, in a result few saw coming.
Going into Tuesday's primary, retired army intelligence officer Alex Vindman — who gained national prominence for reporting on Donald Trump's conduct during his first term — was widely viewed as the frontrunner. Vindman raised $16.3m for his campaign, more than ten times the $975,000 Nixon collected. Yet Nixon won decisively, taking more than 750,000 votes to Vindman's roughly 550,000.
Why the upset happened
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said pre-primary polling largely measured how each candidate might fare against Moody in the general election, rather than testing preferences among Democratic primary voters themselves. She said the result shows a strong progressive majority within Florida's Democratic base, mirroring a national trend.
Nixon only recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America and was not formally endorsed by the group. She still faces trial next month on trespassing and resisting-arrest charges stemming from a May sit-in protest at Governor Ron DeSantis's office.
Within hours of her victory speech, the University of Virginia's Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating of the Florida Senate race from "likely Republican" to "safe Republican," citing concerns that the "socialist" label could hurt her with groups such as Florida's large Hispanic electorate.
Senate Democratic leaders publicly welcomed Nixon's win but face a dilemma, having been preparing to funnel money and resources toward Vindman as the more moderate option with a perceived shot at victory. Jewett noted Florida has about 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, meaning Nixon will need to prove she can raise significant funds or replicate her grassroots campaign's success statewide.
Despite the primary rivalry, Vindman pledged to stand alongside Nixon against Moody. In her victory speech, Nixon vowed not to soften her message despite opponents branding her campaign as extreme.
