The outcome of Florida’s U.S. Senate Democratic Primary this week drew national attention.
Jacksonville House Representative Angie Nixon won by more than10 points against Alex Vindman, who outspent her in the race 16 to 1.
While that outcome shocked national audiences, some journalists and elected officials who have watched Nixon closely say they were not so surprised.
WJCT and Jacksonville Today reporter Will Brown attended Nixon’s election night watch party, located at a Black-owned event space in Jacksonville’s Arlington neighborhood.
“There was a 17-year-old who was singing the Star Spangled Banner, and as she got to the last line of ‘Land of the Free,’ behind the 17-year-old, the screen showed that Angie Nixon was going to be the projected winner. And when the child hit Brave, there was a crescendo of excitement and joy, and people jumping around and hugging And disbelief in a positive sense that Nixon pulled it off,” he said.
Nixon’s victory was driven by dominant performances among Democrats in urban centers like Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando, but also wide margins in several rural counties across the state. Brown attributes that to Nixon’s campaign’s tactics.
“She pounded the pavement. She was almost every corner of the state that was physically possible. One question I will inevitably ask her campaign is how many miles did she put on her car during the campaign? Because I can only imagine. But she went to all corners of the state and pockets of the state where U.S. Senate candidates, whether they're Democrats or Republicans, don't often show up,” he said.
Nixon has been known widely by Florida Democrats for a while. Since being elected to the state House in 2020, she has been one of the loudest critics of policy priorities put forward by Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans. She opposed laws restricting books in Florida schools and was arrested while protesting Florida’s recent mid-decade redistricting. She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has been a popular figure in Florida progressive circles for decades.
At her press gaggle, she leaned into anti-establishment messaging.
“We put people first. I don't care about the billionaires or the corporations. We went out and talked to people and highlighted what their issues and concerns were. And we crafted a platform together with those very people on how to address those needs. That's what's wrong with the politicians today. Again, they only care about making themselves richer or making their campaign donors and their billionaire friends and families richer,” she said.
National media has latched onto her affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America, tying this race to trends in other states where DSA-aligned and more centrist Democrats have fought in contentious primaries.
Jacksonville City Council Member Jimmy Peluso, who’s known Nixon for more than a decade, doesn’t see it that way.
“She's from Florida. She understands what Florida's going through. She understands the issues in Tallahassee. She recognizes what real families and real people are dealing with,” he said.
Peluso said he thinks Nixon won because she came off as authentic to Democratic primary voters and pushed directly on pocket-book issues.
“There's a lot of you know old school you know post-Cold War era thinking about the economy and about how people live, and nothing's really changed in such a way that that really helps the working class and the middle-class Americans, and so I think that's more or less what people want to hear. They want to hear a solution out of it. I don't think people are like dying for, you know, the DSA to take over and win all across the country. They want somebody who's younger and who has real ideas,” he said.
Despite the primary upset, Nixon does face an uphill battle against Republican U.S. Senator Ashley Moody. Republicans hold 1.5 million voter registration lead, meaning to win a statewide race, a Democrat would need a strong turnout from their party, and would need to win over a significant majority of No Party Affiliate voters.
