In a surprising turn, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon has captured the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, defeating Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council official who became a central figure in President Trump's first impeachment. Decision Desk HQ projects Nixon's victory in Tuesday's primary.
Nixon and Vindman were the only two Democrats vying for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the vacancy created when Marco Rubio stepped down to become Secretary of State. The winner of November's election will serve the remaining two years of Rubio's term, with the seat up again in 2028.
Moody, a former Florida attorney general, easily dispatched three little-known challengers in the GOP primary on Tuesday. She is heavily favored in the general election, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating the race as "solid Republican." Florida has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2012, when Bill Nelson won a third term.
Vindman entered the race with considerable national fundraising and endorsements from prominent Democrats, including Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jack Reed (R.I.), and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), as well as Florida state Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman. He leaned heavily on his biography as a whistleblower during Trump's first impeachment, testifying that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
Nixon, first elected to the Florida House in 2020, ran as a progressive and secured endorsements from Reps. Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). Her campaign appears to have resonated with primary voters, despite polling that largely assumed Vindman would be the nominee.
The upset in the Democratic primary follows a broader pattern of progressive insurgents challenging establishment-backed candidates in Florida. In a related contest, Rep. Jared Moskowitz fended off a DSA-backed challenger in a competitive House primary, while Debbie Wasserman Schultz won her primary amid debates over Black representation.
Nixon's victory sets up a November matchup against Moody, who has the advantage of incumbency and a solidly Republican state. The general election will be watched closely as a test of Democratic enthusiasm in a state that has trended right in recent cycles.
Other Florida primaries on Tuesday included Rogers winning the GOP nod in the 2nd District with support from Sen. Rick Scott, while the state GOP chair lost his bid for a Panhandle House seat. The results come amid a live coverage of primaries in Florida, Wyoming, and Alaska.
