Florida Democrat Angie Nixon runs close Senate race against Ashley Moody
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The gist
Florida Democrat Angie Nixon trails Republican Sen. Ashley Moody by 4 points in a new poll.
The race tests whether Democrats can compete again in Florida.
Background
Angie Nixon is a Florida state representative and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, described in the material as a progressive firebrand affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. She launched her Senate campaign as her third term in the legislature was ending, and won an August primary upset over the better-funded Alex Vindman. Her opponent, Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis after Marco Rubio left to become President Donald Trump's secretary of state. The race has drawn attention because polls show it closer than expected, even as Democrats have been wary of investing in Florida given the party's recent struggles there.
How it unfolded
- 2018SEIU's Florida chapter recruited Nixon as a field director; she worked on various campaigns, including the push for a $15 minimum wage.
- 2020Nixon ran for state representative and won.
- 2023Nixon introduced a cease-fire resolution to halt Israel's destruction of Gaza.
- August 2026Nixon pulled off a primary upset over the better-funded Alex Vindman.
- Oct 11, 2026An appeals court struck down a grand jury report in the Hope Florida case; DeSantis declared victory.
- Oct 14, 2026Nixon spoke at a town hall at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and said on CNN that Ashley Moody took $10 million from sick kids' Medicaid money.
- Oct 18, 2026Nixon and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders embraced at a campaign rally in Tallahassee that packed in over 1,000 people.
- Oct 21, 2026A University of North Florida survey showed Nixon within 4 percentage points of Moody.
- Oct 25, 2026Nixon rallied supporters at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, urging them to stay engaged through the end of voting.
- Nov 3, 2026Election Day.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- Nixon says Moody is a "lying, cheating, thieving, scamming person" who took $10 million from sick kids and rerouted it into political slush funds, and that voters should "fire her."
- Official
- Moody charges that Nixon is an extremist and a radical, and therefore unfit to be the next U.S. Senator from Florida.
- Support
- Bernie Sanders held several campaign rallies across Florida with Nixon, and an audience member at a UCF town hall yelled "She's a thief" about Moody, which Nixon agreed with.
- Analysts
- Polls show a closer race than expected after Nixon's primary upset, while Democrats have been wary of investing in Florida given the party's recent struggles there.
Still unverified
Nixon's claim that Moody took $10 million from sick kids for Medicaid and rerouted it into two political slush funds for DeSantis to defeat two citizen-led ballot initiatives is the subject of a PolitiFact fact-check.