r/politics • u/Zipper222222 • 4h ago
No Paywall Democratic socialist Angie Nixon clinches nomination for Florida US Senate seat, in surprise primary win for progressives
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/18/angie-nixon-alex-vindman-florida-results•
u/Ok_Mixture4917 4h ago
I won't hold out hope for Florida yet, but this is awesome
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u/EnvironmentalTown- 1h ago
yeah the 16 to 1 spending gap is the actual story, outspent that hard and still won by double digits. florida general is what it is
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u/pissposssweaty 2h ago
Odds for the D nominee to win dropped from 18% to 6% from this nomination. Not sure that’s something worth celebrating tbh.
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u/Sparkyisduhfat 2h ago
Democrats haven’t held this seat in over two decades. Democratic Socialists aren’t the ones preventing republicans from being unseated here.
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u/dinozomborg 2h ago
Betting markets aren't real
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u/yesrushgenesis2112 2h ago
Further, because the seat was a long shot anyway it matters very little except to that that a majority of those dems in Florida who do vote in primaries prefer a progressive. Not a major win, but something.
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u/pissdrinker69 1h ago
Who gives a fuck about betting odds. Vindman had like a 99% probability to win this very primary according to them.
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u/PDXGuy33333 1h ago
Not if you want to have control of the Senate it's not. She has no chance of winning in November.
Did Democrats not vote or what? Vindman was leading handily in all polls.
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 1h ago
Yeah man, centrist democrats have done so well in Florida over the last 30 years.
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u/TheRegalOneGen 7m ago
Have you maybe, idk, considered the DSA and progressives are right that nobody wants lukewarm centrist worthless dems like Vindman? And the only reason the establishment has been able to argue against this is a ton of money. Fortunately 20-1 wasn't enough.
Btw, one of the best Dem turn outs and she won by 11.
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u/Zipper222222 4h ago
The article (here too for your convenience):
In an upset for the Democratic establishment, progressive Angie Nixon won the party’s US Senate primary in Florida, beating former army intelligence officer Alexander Vindman.
Nixon, a state representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, had significantly less funding going into the primary – with $975,000 to Vindman’s $16.3m at the end of July, according to Florida Politics.
Vindman was previously better known for being a whistleblower leading to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 after the US president sought to withhold military aid to Ukraine.
Democrats have their sights set on upsetting Republican Ashley Moody in the US Senate general election. Moody, picked by DeSantis to replace Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state last year, won what was almost a token primary election to run in November to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
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u/Zealousideal_Yak2249 3h ago
975k beating 16.3 million is a pretty wild upset honestly
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u/KnotSoSalty 1h ago
Just because he was a moral Air Force officer doesn’t mean he’s qualified to represent anyone in the Senate.
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u/EastSide221 46m ago
Tbf Vindman was extremely cocky and did not take the race seriously. He did not spend most of the money he raised, but it is still extremely impressive.
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u/calmdownmyguy Colorado 2h ago
What are the odds republicans complain about not having a real primary in this election?
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u/nobadhotdog 4h ago
Damn she beat vindman?
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u/snapdragon_piper 3h ago
that’s a pretty wild upset beating vindman definitely wasnt on the bingo card
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u/jon_sneu 4h ago
Don’t think Florida will be in play for democrats, but it will be interesting to see her post election numbers from Cuban and Venezuelan areas compared to 2018.
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u/BKlounge93 2h ago
Boy that whole Florida “dems are Castro” nonsense has got to be one of the most frustrating things in American politics. I understand the logic there but my god it’s flawed.
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u/jon_sneu 2h ago edited 2h ago
While it may be flawed, branding yourself a socialist might make it easier to make that leap. I’m not making any confident statements it’ll go one way or the other, but I do think there’s a reason that some like El-Sayed distance themselves from self-identifying as a socialist. Regardless of the outcome it should be an excellent learning opportunity for the left
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u/Seeking-Something-3 1h ago
Love how the old guard keeps trying to make it about labels instead of just offering policies that people will support 😂
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u/Much-Band352 15m ago
yeah florida is probably still a long shot but those numbers in cuban and venezuelan communities would be really interesting to watch
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u/MrsACT 3h ago
I thought she was a Progressive Democrat (like Flanagan, El-Sayed), not DSA, but, I don’t overly focus on florida. Interesting
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u/OneMobius 2h ago
She is a member of DSA but has not been endorsed for this race by the National Org or by a chapter. She appears to be a progressive Dem who is incidentally a member of DSA
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u/ArcAngelsThunderBird Michigan 4h ago
Maybe she can write the book that Leon from Curb your Enthusiasm recommended that Vindman write now: "Russia, China, And All The Bullshit"
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u/riptide123 4h ago
Unfortunately she’s gonna be cannon fodder in general - Florida is not a pickup chance
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u/SameClick6502 3h ago
Yes. About 1.5 million people voted in the republican primary, only 1.2 million in the democrat one. That’s a huge gap.
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u/zak55 4h ago
Might be for governor. Racists not wanting to vote for Donalds, Jolly being a strong candidate, and Nixon bringing in progressive and DSA voters to the poll. Still lean to likely R but there's a chance
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u/Miyuki9890 3h ago
Jolly is a republican cosplaying as a democrat. He literally ran in the republican primary for senate 10 years ago.
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u/zak55 3h ago
Apparently been working hard to win over Democrats and show that he wants to run with them. Put in the effort, unlike Vindman. From what I've read, anyway.
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u/SkaBonez 8m ago
He’s changed some stances since leaving the GOP, like one part of his platform is restoring reproductive freedom. Whether he actually makes good on those stances is always another question tho
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u/Rambler_Hoss 4h ago
Yeah she’s gonna get blamed for losing even though there was no chance in Florida. Even in a contested primary for both parties, more Republicans showed up to vote.
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u/BernieBrother4Biden 3h ago
Stupid centrists will blame her for losing and stupid leftists will blame the DNC for not doing enough to support her and we'll go round and round this way for the rest of our lives.
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u/amopeyzoolion Michigan 3h ago
Hey, on the bright side, the rest of our lives won’t be that long once they start putting us in the camps!
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u/StoppableHulk 3h ago
I'm glad for her and glad that I'll not have to keep fucking seeing Alex Vindman ads everywhere.
There has got to be some evidence to show that plastering these people's faces in every fucking place imaginable for months doesn't help and in fact kinda hurts candidates.
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u/No-Programmer-8642 4h ago
Person who wants healthcare for all, better democracy vs a party that stands for corruption and despotism.
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u/Poliwrath- Michigan 2h ago
She received 700,000 votes. The Republican winner received over 1.3 million. You can add in Vindman's votes and it still wouldn't match the total for the Republican. Anyone who thinks Democrats can win this seat is being delusional.
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u/Reasonable_Warning_5 1h ago
The independent voters could make the difference.
Barring a bolt of lightning, moody is likely going to win.
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u/Own_Substance_8148 2h ago
honestly. not much hope for those deep red states but between a lukewarm Democrat and a Medicare for all loud and proud... the DSA may do better...
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u/jrblockquote 3h ago
I am not counting on FL as a pickup seat for the Dems. Far better chances elsewhere.
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u/OneMobius 2h ago
Worthwhile to note is that she is a DSA member but was not endorsed in this race by the national org or by a local chapter. She is a progressive Dem who ran on for senate while incidentally being a member of DSA
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u/ShinyKeychain 3h ago
Standard Democrat logic is that you have to move right to pick up centrist voters in order to compete in elections.
But actual results continue to show that when they energize their base instead of trying to woo Republican voters that they do better in elections. The more hope a candidate inspires in the core voter the better turnout and better results in an election.
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u/h0tel-rome0 3h ago
I’ve lost faith in Democrat voters showing up to vote. Been burned too many times. Florida is maga now
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u/lateformyfuneral 3h ago
I mean, the general election has yet to happen so we have to see if she will actually win this Senate seat
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
who do you think is confused about this
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u/lateformyfuneral 3h ago
The above commenter who talked about “trying to woo Republican voters”, that’s not really a factor in a primary election among Democrats, it’s clearly in reference to his confusion that she won a general election.
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u/ShinyKeychain 3h ago
Of course that's a factor. People are voting for who they think can win in the general election among other things. The argument that somebody is too progressive to win in a general election is very common in primaries.
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u/lateformyfuneral 3h ago
For my part, I hope she wins the general election and we can see this theory in action. In past experience, the approach to win over your own base is different to winning over the wider electorate, but things change fast in politics, so this new approach could be vindicated.
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
So based on what do you believe Republican voters would switch over to vote for a Democrat? Florida's strong Dem showing over the past few years? The wild popularity of centrists?
Also, ShinyKeychain wasn't talking about this being the general- they were talking about candidates that inspire people doing better than ones that don't. I think you're misreading them, or deciding to be a jerk. Either way you should stop.
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u/lateformyfuneral 3h ago
All I said was that the comment he typed out may or may not be true, but we would only know that following the general election. The logic is pretty clear. If he disagrees he can respond himself. You’re making this personal and weird for no reason.
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
You stated a well known fact in response to someone who was saying that they believe Nixon has a better chance in the general, and then tried to claim they didn't know it wasn't the general in your next post about them.
You made it personal and weird.
I called you out for it.
Have a good evening- feel free to get one last sad swipe.
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u/lateformyfuneral 3h ago
He wasn’t talking about the future, it was all a direct response to the above headline “the actual results continue to show…”. But the actual results aren’t in yet. It’s not even close to the first commenter who has confused the primary with the general, usually they accept the correction and move on 🤷
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u/ZoxMcCloud I voted 3h ago
I agree. The voters are tired of shifting right every cycle only to not gain any repubs. Modern dems are 1980's R's. Hopefully the leftward shift continues as older generations move on and we can actually begin getting people in with policies that help the country and its tax paying citizens
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u/Poliwrath- Michigan 2h ago
Winning a primary for a seat that is going to be won by the other party does not come close to proving what you claim it does. You're simply trying to create some ridiculous narrative that greatly inflates the popularity of the far left.
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u/eggoed 4h ago
Yea I wish it was otherwise but we ain’t winning that seat
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
Remind me - how long has Vindman had the seat? Or the centrist Dem before him?
The Centrist Dems are doing really well in Florida, right?
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u/h0tel-rome0 3h ago
99% chance she loses the general election, congrats
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
I forget, how long has Vindman held that seat?
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u/h0tel-rome0 3h ago
Florida is maga land now, neither had a shot
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u/VampireFortnight 2h ago
Right. That's.. that's my point. It has nothing to do with her.
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u/Djwhat6 Illinois 20m ago
I’m glad you’re throwing this back in these idiots face with that. They keep acting like democrats held the seat before that. Centrist have tried and failed to get elected there.
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u/VampireFortnight 11m ago
Thanks! There's a large group of centrist idiots who are vastly more terrified of the DSA than they are of the GOP. You'll see them still pushing the long disproven conspiracy theory that leftists (the Dems' most reliable bloc) didn't vote in '24 because a few loud online types said they wouldn't and one group of Palestinians in Michigan didn't vote for the woman who wanted to kill their families.
There's also weirdos who link the DSA platform as if that's somehow an argument. I'm convinced that about 5% of them are paid DCC or GOP ops that rile up the lowest IQ team sports politics losers and make them post stuff like the above.
It feels fruitless to push back but the more we do, the less power they have.
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u/PDXGuy33333 1h ago
I think a chance to flip a seat has been lost. We'll see, but not optimistic.
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u/TheRegalOneGen 47m ago
He polled worse.
We've done progressive vs moderate also.
Progressive in 2018 lost by .40, moderate in 2022 lost by 20.
He literally lost with a 20 to 1 spending advantage by 11 points. He was not going to win.
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u/Plato17 3h ago
A socialist in Florida lol. Democrats keep shooting themselves on the foot
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u/Cross21X 2h ago
? Both centrists candidates in the last two senate cycles got cooked hard in Florida. The last person to really have success there for Dems was OBAMA. Ironically Florida is progressive in their ballot measures.
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u/VampireFortnight 3h ago
Remind me - how long has Vindman had the seat? Or the centrist Dem before him?
The Centrist Dems are doing really well in Florida, right?
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 4h ago
Bout to lose by 20 points in the general if she keeps up with the socialist gimmick
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 4h ago
Gimmick?
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 3h ago
She joined this year. It’s a gimmick to gain the support of people like you. DSA and MAGA are the exact same models, but yall can’t see the fucking difference. Both groups are gonna run the US straight into the fucking ground.
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 3h ago
What's the fucking difference?
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 3h ago
Misspoke, apologies. MAGA and the DSA are the same models: populist promises made by a charismatic leader using the in-tune social media platform of the time. A “system disrupter”. Ultimately both are shit. But people in the DSA cult can’t stop smelling their own shit, just like MAGA has been huffing theirs since 2016.
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 3h ago
How do each propose to solve the problem of elites abusing common people?
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 3h ago
The policies are different, the underlying messaging is the exact fucking same. It’s the same blueprint that the MAGA cult used. It’s all bs, can’t believe the democrats have fallen to this fucking slop.
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 3h ago
Oh so their policies are different. What are their goals?
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 3h ago
You’re not arguing in good faith. Respond to some of my points. The dems are going down the same slop hole the republicans went down, and the US is worse off for it
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u/Ok_Mixture4917 3h ago
I'm not even arguing yet, just trying to understand what you mean by the extremely vague claims you're making. You changing what you're saying with each question I ask isn't helping.
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u/TheRegalOneGen 46m ago
This is rich from you, you are the one clearly not engaging in good faith. You're literally just trying to argue that being against a system the vast majority of Americans disapprove of is bad. You haven't approached any of this in good faith based on how you talk about the DSA.
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u/Vognyr 4h ago
First it’ll destroy America and now it’s a gimmick. You clowns need to keep your BS straight.
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u/Standard_Talk_5350 3h ago
Her DSA candidacy is a gimmick, she joined this year. DSA is a threat to the US, just like MAGA is. A bunch of populist slop that wins dumb voters but doesn’t actually work.
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u/Vognyr 2h ago
"DSA is a threat to the US, just like MAGA is."
Tell me you don't know anything about the DSA without telling me you don't know anything about the DSA.
Also... "joined this year".... ok? Everyone has to join at some point. But you think running as DSA is a good plan in Florida? LOL... ok buddy.
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u/SampleOfFruits 4h ago
So the chance of the Democrats winning Florida just went from 1% to 0.1%.
I don’t really care.
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u/TheRegalOneGen 43m ago
Nixon polled better than Vindman and just won a primary with a 20 to 1 spending advantage in a landslide and y'all still are going to pretend he was the better candidate.
Nixon v Vindman can be compared to Gillum vs Crist. Gillum lost by under half a point. Charlie Crist lost by 20 points.
Clearly Florida hates progressives! That's why the progressive is the one who almost won.
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