Florida's Senate race will be a test of progressive power, pitting a progressive Democrat against a Trump-backed Republican in President Donald Trump's home state. Senator Ashley Moody took office after she was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to fill the seat left vacant when Marco Rubio became Secretary of State. She faces her first statewide election as an incumbent, giving her an advantage, but Democrats are eying it as an opportunity to flip the seat held by Rubio for over a decade.
On Tuesday, Angie Nixon won the Democratic primary election with 55.2 percent of the vote at the time the race was called, defeating Alexander Vindman. Eighty-three percent of the vote had been counted at the time. A lifelong native of Jacksonville and a former union organizer, Angie’s dedication to put working families first runs deep – and now, she’s running to take that fight to the Senate.
Ashley Moody’s votes have cost Florida, from her siding with private insurance companies over Floridians to ripping away health care. In November, Florida will have a clear choice at the ballot," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said in a released statement to Newsweek on Tuesday night. For Democrats, though, the challenge is daunting.
Florida has steadily shifted toward Republicans over the last decade, with the GOP building a voter registration advantage and winning most major statewide contests. Polling suggests Moody is favored, but the margins are narrower than those seen in some recent statewide contests. Nixon enters the race as one of Florida's most prominent progressive Democrats.
The Jacksonville lawmaker has built a reputation as a grassroots organizer and outspoken critic of DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature. Her campaign emphasizes lowering costs, increasing wages, expanding access to health care and mobilizing working-class voters who often sit out elections. One of Nixon's strengths is her connection to organized labor and progressive groups.
She has secured support from a number of left-leaning organizations and elected officials, positioning herself as the candidate of the Democratic Party's activist wing. That support could help generate enthusiasm among younger voters and progressives who have argued that Democrats should offer a sharper contrast to Republicans rather than running toward the political center. A July survey from the University of North Florida's Public Opinion Research Lab found Moody leading Nixon 50 percent to 42 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup.
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