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Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon defeated retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the state’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, pulling off an upset over the nationally known Trump impeachment witness and advancing to the general election that will select who will finish out the remainder of Marco Rubio’s former seat.
Nixon’s victory came despite a massive fundraising advantage for Vindman, who entered the race with a national profile stemming from his role in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Nixon will now face Trump-backed Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., in November for the right to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s Senate term. Moody was appointed by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis after Rubio vacated his seat to join the Trump administration, but must win in November to retain the seat through the end of his term.
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Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon campaigns during a tour of the Little Havana neighborhood on August 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat first elected to the Florida House in 2020, entered politics after years of community and labor organizing. Her campaign describes her as a union organizer, and SEIU says Nixon served as state field director for SEIU Florida and as director of the Florida Public Service Union’s Higher Education Campaign. The union also identifies Nixon as an SEIU member, while her official Florida House biography lists her occupation as “Higher Education Director.”
In an exclusive interview days before the primary, Nixon defended her support for abolishing ICE, arguing that existing law enforcement agencies could handle criminal conduct and saying, “Immigration is not a criminal issue. It’s a civil issue.” She also backed freezing rents nationwide for at least one year, blaming rising costs on “corporate greed” and insurance companies.
Asked about the cost of Medicare for All and her other economic priorities amid the rising national debt, Nixon said she would not raise taxes on the middle class and added that “the only debt that I’m concerned about is the debt of hardworking, everyday people.” She also declined to commit to supporting Schumer as the Senate’s Democratic leader, saying Democrats need “new leadership all across the country.”
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Nixon’s relationship with the Democratic Socialists of America also drew attention during the primary. Nixon told public radio in July that she was a DSA member, but DSA officials told on primary night that she had previously belonged to a local chapter and unsuccessfully sought its endorsement, while saying her current membership status was unclear. reached out to Nixon’s campaign for clarification.
Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville breaks up a debate on Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State in the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
Vindman, meanwhile, entered the contest as its most nationally recognizable Democrat. The retired lieutenant colonel was serving on the National Security Council when he raised concerns about Trump’s 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and later became a central witness in the impeachment inquiry.
Vindman reported approximately $14.6 million in campaign receipts through June 30, more than 20 times the roughly $625,000 reported by Nixon during the same election cycle, according to FEC records.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at a closed session before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees October 29, 2019 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Vindman was on Capitol Hill to testify to the committees for the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Nixon will vhead into November trying to break a long Democratic drought in the Sunshine State. No Democrat has won a Florida U.S. Senate election since 2012.
The winner in November will serve through the end of Rubio’s term before the seat is contested again in 2028.
