Meet State Rep. Angie Nixon, the Democratic Party nominee for the United States Senate from Florida. Some of you may not know of her, but she has made a splash in the Sunshine State. For example, in her own words:
“There is no sexualization at a drag show. It’s just people dressing up and singing and performing. I have taken my children to drag shows. And it’s fun. It’s entertainment. It is wholesome entertainment.”
If everyone in Florida who agrees that drag shows are appropriate for children votes for her, Rep. Nixon could get 10 to 20% of the vote in the general election. She is up against Sen. Ashley Moody. Moody was elected Attorney General of Florida by a bigger majority than Gov. Ron Desantis. She was then picked by the governor to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio when he became Secretary of State.
I am not often as surprised as I was this week by Nixon’s stunning victory in the Democratic U.S. Senate Primary.
Every account I had seen indicated that retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who lied about President Donald Trump and a call with Ukraine President Volodimir Zelensky, was going to win handily and without much opposition.
Vindman had statewide name identification because of his role in trying to impeach President Trump. Florida is the third biggest state in the country, and it was hard to see how anyone else could get enough name recognition to be competitive without spending a huge amount of money on advertising.
Nixon came from Jacksonville in the northern part of the state. Vindman was outspending her $9 million to $700,000 (almost 12:1).
However, she won by almost 12 points when the votes were counted.
What makes this intriguing is that Nixon is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In a relatively conservative state, Nixon supports a range of radical policies. She wants to abolish ICE, cut off US aid to Israel, and establish a national health system by putting everyone into Medicare.
Nixon’s political cheering section illustrates just how radical she is. Nixon was backed by “the“Squad,” Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, former Rep. Cori Bush, and children’s YouTube personality Ms. Rachel.
There is no real danger of Nixon winning the Senate seat. Florida has become the most reliable large Republican state.
But from the Democrats’ perspective there is a real danger that Nixon will further isolate and shrink the party in Florida — and become one more national symbol of the rise of the true big government socialists who are taking control of the Democratic Party.
What started a few months ago as an uprising in New York City has now spread to Washington state, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and now Florida. Big government socialists and candidates who advocate unpopular values are winning in Democratic primaries all over the place.
The next stage will be seeing if they can reach beyond their passionate and energized base. Will they find the arguments and the strategies which enable them to attract people who are frustrated, angry, feel underserved or rejected, and are looking for a way to protest?
Nixon offered a good way to protest if you are a Democrat. She may not be an acceptable candidate for most Floridians. And that may be one more symptom of the problems Democrats are going to have this fall, when they get beyond the primaries and into the general election.
This was a pretty big shock.
How to Win 2026
The 2026 midterms could be a defining moment for America. Follow Newt Gingrich and Gingrich 360’s latest columns and analysis on the ideas, policies, and strategies Republicans need to win the big arguments, grow the American majority, and deliver real results for the American people.
Latest from America’s New Majority Project
Latest from Newt’s World
Listen to more at NewtsWorld.com
You can manage your subscription preferences to choose the updates, newsletters, and alerts you want to receive on the website.