Democratic socialist notches surprise win in Florida Senate primary: 5 takeaways
The Hill · C · trust 56/100
Comments: by Julia Mueller and Caroline Vakil - 08/19/26 1:43 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Julia Mueller and Caroline Vakil - 08/19/26 1:43 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING A progressive scored an unexpected upset in Florida’s Democratic primary for Senate, a left-wing breakthrough in President Trump’s home state that tees up a tough, GOP-favored fight this fall.
Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) but was not endorsed by the national organization, toppled Alex Vindman, whose star rose as a witness in Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings, in one of the cycle’s most unexpected primary results. She’ll face off in November against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody for the final two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate term.
But it wasn’t all good news for progressives in the Sunshine State. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) easily fended off DSA-backed Oliver Larkin in a critical toss-up House district, while Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) prevailed over a progressive rival in a crowded primary for a newly reshaped, plurality-Black seat.
Meanwhile, two of Trump’s picks for the House lost their primaries : Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), whose campaign was dogged by controversy, and GOP contender Catalina Lauf, who was vying for Rep. Byron Donalds’s seat. Donalds, with Trump’s support, notched the Republican nod to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Voters also weighed in on Tuesday in Wyoming, where it’s the first time in three decades that the red state has open seats for governor, Senate and House at once. And in Alaska, competitive races for Senate and the Last Frontier’s lone House seat were still taking shape early Wednesday morning.
Nixon’s win over Vindman in Florida is a huge boon for democratic socialists after a major defeat in Wisconsin last week. Yet, the Democratic nominee has sought to downplay her DSA ties.
“Look, we can argue all day about people’s labels, but at the end of the day, I care about the needs of people,” she told NBC News when asked about joining the group, arguing she’s focused on “people-centered politics.”
Nixon’s campaign confirmed to The Hill Tuesday that the Florida state lawmaker is a DSA member as well as part of the Working Families Party, SEIU labor union and the Democratic Party.
Nixon’s win marks the first time that a democratic socialist won a Democratic primary for Senate or governor this cycle. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly lost the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary last week.
Decision Desk HQ had underestimated Nixon— who received endorsements from progressives like Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — so much so that their polling averages only included Vindman-Moody matchups.
Vindman in a statement congratulated Nixon on her run and said he would support her in the general.
“Rep. Nixon ran a strong campaign. I will be standing by her side in the fight against Ashley Moody. I hope you’ll join me,” he said.
Nixon’s win is also notable because Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) easily defeated democratic socialist challenger Oliver Larkin in the 25 th Congressional District’s primary.
Still, as democratic socialists like Nixon make inroads, some elections analysts see her success making victory more likely for Republicans come November.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, wrote on the social platform X that the nonpartisan election handicapper would be changing its rating of the Florida Senate race from “likely Republican to safe Republican.”
The president suffered several losses in the Florida primaries after two of his endorsed candidates – scandal-plagued Rep. Cory Mills and GOP candidate Catalina Lauf, the latter of whom was running for Rep. Byron Donalds’s (R-Fla.) seat – both lost their contests.
Mills faced a tough road to reelection after the House Ethics Committee opened a probe into the congressman last year to investigate allegations of campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct, among others. The House panel is also investigating an incident from 2025 in which a woman reported to police that Mills has assaulted her before later recanting her story and the circumstances surrounding a court injunction that significantly restricted Mills from engaging with a woman in-person or online.
Mills has denied wrongdoing, pointing out that he has not been charged with any crimes or arrested.
Trump notably endorsed the congressman in February despite his controversies, but the president left out Mills as Trump touted his Florida endorsements in a recent post on his Truth Social platform.
Decision Desk HQ projected former local news anchor Ryan Elijah as the victor in the GOP primary for Mills’s seat.
Meanwhile, Lauf, a former Commerce Department adviser, also lost her primary in the Republican primary for Southwest Florida House seat to Sun Broadcasting President Jim Schwartzel. Donalds left his House seat to run for Florida governor.
At the same time, the president did see some bright spots. For one, he endorsed Donalds in the Florida GOP gubernatorial primary, which the congressman won.
But Trump’s choice for Wyoming governor lost her GOP primary , with state Sen. Eric Barlow projected to defeat Trump-backed Megan Degenfelder and other primary rivals.
Barlow’s win is another poor mark on Trump’s endorsement score card, after his picks for governor in Iowa, Georgia, South Carolina and Minnesota all lost their primaries earlier this year – adding fuel to questions about the president’s endorsement power amid lackluster polling numbers and a cycle without his name at the top of the ballot.
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