Spotlight: Angie Nixon, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate
Photo: Florida House of Representatives
Angie Nixon, a Democratic state representative from Jacksonville, is her party's nominee for U.S. Senate in Florida. She faces Republican Sen. Ashley Moody and no-party candidate Neil J. Gillespie in the Nov. 3, 2026 special election (Florida Division of Elections). The winner will serve the last two years of Marco Rubio's term (WFSU).
Who she is
Nixon, 42, is from Jacksonville (Mother Jones; campaign site). Her campaign says her mother worked two jobs so she and her brother "never went hungry," and that she lost a cousin to gun violence (campaign site). After her primary win she described herself as "a former single Black mom from Moncrief" (News4JAX). She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Florida in 2007 (Ballotpedia).
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called her a former union organizer (WFSU). She is a former executive director of Florida for All, a statewide political coalition (WGCU). She owns Cafe Resistance, a Jacksonville bookstore (WLRN).
Nixon was first elected to the Florida House in 2020 (Florida Phoenix). She won House District 14 in 2020 and District 13 in 2022 and 2024 (Ballotpedia). She now represents District 13 (Florida House). She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party (WLRN). She rejects the "socialist" label her opponents use (WGCU).
The race
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Moody, then Florida's attorney general, to succeed Rubio, who left the Senate to become secretary of state. Moody must run in a November 2026 special election to keep the seat (Florida Phoenix).
Nixon launched her campaign on Jan. 22, 2026 (Florida Phoenix). In the Aug. 18 Democratic primary, she received 705,835 votes, or 56.06%. Alex Vindman received 553,138 votes, or 43.94% (Florida Division of Elections). Vindman retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel (Axios). Vindman raised about $16.2 million to her roughly $1 million (WFSU). The two never debated (NBC Miami).
Moody won the Republican primary with 79.56% over Chris Gleason, Ernest "Ernie" Rivera and Neelam Taneja Perry (Florida Division of Elections).
"We are strong, we are united, and it's going to take all of us to win in November," Nixon said on primary night (WFSU).
Where she stands
From her campaign site unless noted:
Health care: She supports "Medicare for All that covers every person in America." She says she would file a bill on her first day to restore enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025 (WLRN).
Wages and taxes: She wants to raise the federal minimum wage "to a real living wage, indexed to inflation." She backs "a 5% annual wealth tax on billionaires" and "taxing capital gains the same as wages."
Housing: She calls for "a national rent stabilization standard, just-cause eviction protections." Her home page calls for "a national rent freeze and a real moratorium on evictions" (campaign site).
Child care: "Universal, high-quality child care and pre-kindergarten for every family, regardless of income."
Property insurance: "Federal action on the property insurance crisis, including reinsurance backstops and stronger consumer protections."
Immigration: "A swift path to citizenship for Dreamers and undocumented residents," and "abolishing ICE and rebuilding immigration enforcement from scratch."
Foreign policy: She calls for "upholding the ceasefire agreement in Gaza." She has said she would have supported a July congressional resolution to cut $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel (NBC Miami).
Her record
Bills: WLRN described her legislative record as thin. It said Democrats are shut out of power in Tallahassee and that she has focused on resistance (WLRN). In 2024 she filed bills on air conditioning in prisons, landlord repair duties, prekindergarten hours, a universal child care voucher and a state labor standards division. All died in committee (Florida House). She also filed HB 1623, a pilot program for free early education for children of child care workers (Florida Politics).
Gaza resolution: In November 2023 she sponsored a House resolution asking the Biden administration to press for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. The House rejected it 104-2 (WUSF). Rep. Randy Fine told members, "If you vote for this, you're an anti-Semite." Nixon answered that caring "about thousands of innocent lives lost makes nobody anti-Semitic."
Redistricting, 2022: She led a House floor protest against a DeSantis-drawn congressional map that eliminated two districts where Black residents were a plurality (Florida Phoenix).
Redistricting, 2026: On April 29 she used a mini bullhorn on the House floor to protest a new congressional map. Two Democrats then voted for the map by mistake (Florida Phoenix). On May 14 the House Rules and Ethics Committee reprimanded her, the first such reprimand in more than 20 years. "I don't care if I get a reprimand," she said.
Arrest: She was arrested May 15 after spending hours in DeSantis' Capitol office and faced two misdemeanor charges, including trespassing. In September she agreed to pay a $250 fine and do 15 hours of community service. Her lawyer said she entered no guilty plea and that the charges will be dismissed once she meets the conditions (Florida Phoenix). "I stood my ground then, and I stand by my actions today," she said.
Who's backing her
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which had backed Vindman, endorsed her after the primary, and Vindman said he would stand "by her side" (WFSU). Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed her (Fox News). So did MoveOn Political Action, which says it will make the maximum direct contribution (MoveOn), and EMILYs List (EMILYs List). Our Revolution backed her in the primary (WFSU). Her campaign lists Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Maxwell Frost, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley (campaign site). Mother Jones reported support from Rep. Rashida Tlaib and children's YouTube host Miss Rachel (Mother Jones).
Moody is backed by President Donald Trump (Fox News).
The money
From Jan. 1, 2025, through July 29, 2026, her campaign committee, Angie for Florida, raised $974,845 and spent $709,866. It had $264,978 in cash on hand, according to the FEC. Moody had raised about $11.2 million this year as of the primary (WFSU). In a statement issued by Nixon's campaign, Ocasio-Cortez said Nixon does not take corporate PAC money (Fox News).
Campaign: angienixon.com
Reporting note: Each fact in this Spotlight is linked to its source. Florida Man News Network endorsed Nixon in a separate opinion piece; this profile is straight news.