Opinion | Moody vs. Nixon, Side by Side: Why Angie Nixon Is the Choice for Florida
Health coverage, costs, Hope Florida and who will face voters: the two Senate records compared, and why we back Nixon.
This is an editorial, the opinion of Florida Man News Network. It is separate from our news reporting. FMNN has endorsed Angie Nixon, and we take no money from campaigns.
Floridians choosing a U.S. senator on Nov. 3 have two very different records in front of them. Sen. Ashley Moody, the Republican appointed to the seat in January 2025, has a record in the attorney general's office and in Washington. State Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville, the Democrat, has a record in the Florida House and a plan. No-party candidate Neil J. Gillespie is also on the ballot. Here they are side by side, and here is why we think Nixon is the choice for Florida.
Side by side
| Issue | Ashley Moody (R) | Angie Nixon (D) |
|---|---|---|
| Health coverage | Voted Dec. 11, 2025, against extending enhanced ACA tax credits. More than 440,000 Floridians left the marketplace after they expired, the biggest drop in the nation. Voted for the 2025 budget law that KFF projects will leave about 590,000 more Floridians uninsured by 2034. | Says she would file a bill on her first day to restore the credits. Supports Medicare for All. |
| Cost of living | Credits the 2025 law for tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security. | Wants a minimum wage tied to inflation, universal child care and pre-K, and a national rent stabilization standard. |
| Property insurance | We found no well-sourced record tying her to insurance outcomes either way. | Calls for federal reinsurance backstops and stronger consumer protections. |
| Food aid | The law she voted for tightens SNAP work rules and could leave Florida owing about $984 million in fiscal 2028-29, by the Florida Policy Institute's estimate. | Opposes the cuts. |
| Voters' choices | As attorney general, asked the Florida Supreme Court to keep the 2024 abortion and marijuana amendments off the ballot. Lost both. | Led floor protests against congressional maps she said diluted Black voters' power, in 2022 and 2026. |
| Hope Florida | Her office signed the Medicaid settlement that sent $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation. Says her office had no knowledge of how the money would be spent. Not charged with any crime. | Has called on everyone involved, Moody included, to resign. |
| Money | Backed by a super PAC whose donors include hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. More total cash on hand entering October. | Says she takes no corporate PAC money. Outraised Moody by about $1.8 million from July 30 to Sept. 30. |
| Facing voters | Declined a televised debate with Nixon planned by Action News Jax and the University of North Florida. | Agreed to debate. |
The case for Moody, in her words
Moody calls herself an "America First fighter." She is running on immigration, crime and the economy, with President Trump's endorsement. She says the 2025 law delivered the largest middle-class tax cut in history, ending federal taxes on most tips, overtime and Social Security. She leads in every public poll we found; the RealClearPolling average had her ahead by about 7 points through Oct. 9, though a St. Pete Polls survey in early October showed a 2-point race.
Why that case falls short
A tax cut does not help a family that lost its health coverage. Florida had a record 4.7 million people on the ACA marketplace in 2025. When Moody voted against extending the credits that made those plans affordable, she gave no public explanation, and hundreds of thousands of Floridians lost coverage. Her own office's description of the budget law never mentioned Medicaid or SNAP. Those are the costs Florida families will feel in the doctor's office and the grocery line, and the state budget will feel through the SNAP penalty.
Her record on ballot measures matters too. Florida voters wrote the citizen initiative into their constitution. As attorney general, Moody went to court to keep two of those initiatives from reaching voters at all. More than 6 million Floridians voted for the abortion-rights amendment anyway.
And on Hope Florida, the questions remain unanswered by the person best placed to answer them. An appeals court has erased the grand jury report and ruled the settlement legal. Moody has not been charged with anything. But her office signed the deal, her chief deputy signed it, and she has not sat for the questions voters deserve to ask. FMNN asked her office for comment for our Hope Florida reporting and got no response. She also declined to debate. A senator who will not face her opponent on a stage is asking voters to take a lot on faith.
The case for Nixon, and what to weigh
Nixon's agenda starts where Florida hurts: health coverage, rent, child care, insurance and wages. She won her primary by 12 points while being outraised about 16 to 1, and she has since outraised Moody, much of it from small donors. She says she takes no corporate PAC money. She grew up in Jacksonville's Moncrief neighborhood and has spent her career organizing working Floridians.
Readers should weigh the rest. Her record of passed bills is thin in a Legislature where Democrats hold little power. She was reprimanded by the Florida House this year over a bullhorn protest, and arrested after a sit-in at the governor's office; under an agreement, she paid a fine and did community service, and her lawyer says the charges will be dismissed. Some voters will see a fighter. Others will see a risk. We see someone who has shown she will spend political capital for the people she represents, which is more than a vote against their health care does.
Our choice
Florida needs a senator who will restore the coverage hundreds of thousands of residents lost, who will take on the insurance and housing costs squeezing every county, and who will face voters and answer hard questions. That is Angie Nixon.
Early voting runs through Oct. 31. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Find your county's sites in our Tampa Bay Voter Guide, and read our news reporting on Moody's record, our Spotlight on Nixon and the Hope Florida money trail.
Joseph J. Jackson is the founder of Florida Man News Network. This editorial was drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below and checked against them before publication.
Sources
- Axios Tampa Bay, July 14, 2026 — Florida's drop in ACA enrollees after subsidies expire
- WUSF, Dec. 14, 2025 — Senate fails to extend ACA tax credits
- KFF — How the 2025 reconciliation law affects each state's uninsured rate
- Florida Policy Institute — Florida's 2025 marketplace enrollment and the SNAP penalty estimate
- Sen. Moody's office — Release on the 2025 budget law
- WGCU, Sept. 7, 2026 — Immigration, crime and economy shape Moody's campaign
- Angie Nixon campaign — Priorities
- WLRN, Aug. 18, 2026 — Nixon wins Democratic primary
- WFSU, Aug. 19, 2026 — Nixon upsets Vindman
- Tampa Bay Times, Oct. 17, 2026 — Nixon outraises Moody in third quarter, still has less cash
- The Florida Press, Oct. 13, 2026 — Nixon outraises Moody by $1.8 million in third quarter
- Reuters via KELO, Oct. 1, 2026 — Griffin-backed super PAC spends $5 million to aid Moody
- Action News Jax, Sept. 9, 2026 — Moody declines Action News Jax debate with Nixon
- RealClearPolling — Florida Senate: Moody vs. Nixon polls
- News Service of Florida via WMNF — Moody's challenge to the abortion-rights amendment
- AP via OPB, Apr. 2, 2024 — Court puts abortion and cannabis measures on the ballot
- The Miami Hurricane, Nov. 5, 2024 — Amendment 4 fails despite more than 6 million yes votes
- CBS News Miami, Aug. 27, 2026 — Calls for resignations after grand jury report
- Florida Phoenix, May 14, 2026 — Ethics panel reprimands Nixon
- Florida Phoenix via States Newsroom — Nixon to pay fine and do community service
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