Democratic socialist Angie Nixon has pulled off an upset victory, winning her party’s nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida with 56.1% of the vote, compared to the 43.9% that went to her opponent in Tuesday’s primary, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, according to results published by the Associated Press.
In the general election in November, Nixon will now face off against Republican incumbent Ashley Moody, who won her party’s primary by an overwhelming 79.6% and is expected to retain her seat.
Democrats haven’t held a U.S. Senate seat in Florida since 2019. But in a midterm environment expected to favor the party, the state could prove pivotal, and the primary to replace former Sen. Marco Rubio is putting one of the party’s biggest division points — “socialist” branding — in the spotlight.
Nixon is the first DSA candidate to win a Senate primary in 2026, with all other socialist successes at the federal level taking place in House races within the party.
Vindman, Nixon’s opponent in Tuesday’s primary, is a Kyiv-born Jewish refugee from the former Soviet Union. Vindman, whose twin brother is a congressman in Virginia, attained broader name recognition during the first Trump administration, when he publicly testified about a controversial phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Nixon, in contrast to her opponent’s family history of fleeing from socialism, recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America. Nixon has made noise in her party for pushing pro-Palestinian legislation on the state level, advocating for “de-escalation and cease-fire in the state of Israel and occupied Palestine, less than a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
The South Florida chapter of anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace wrote that it is “thrilled” about Nixon’s victory, touting her progressive views and positioning outside the political establishment.
“She has also stood strong in calling for an end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people and to U.S. military funding and weapons to Israel,” the group’s statement read.
Nixon has campaigned alongside Oliver Larkin — who lost his primary to Rep. Jared Moskowitz on Tuesday — as well as far-left elected figures in the party including Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and her pro-Palestinian positions are a point of worry for some Jewish figures. But in a state with high numbers of voters, particularly Latinos, who have fled socialist or Communist regimes, the candidates’ associations with the “S”-word was seen as a potential deciding factor.
Vindman had outraised Nixon, and led in the scant polling that had been conducted. A July poll from the University of North Florida, however, suggests that Nixon fares slightly better against the Republican nominee, appointed Sen. Ashley Moody.
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