Angie Nixon campaigning in Florida (Pic: @AngieNixon on X)
Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has won a primary election in Florida, one of the US’s deepest red states and Donald Trump’s home state. She’ll go on to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for Senate in November’s midterm elections.
The election was rigged against Nixon. She ran against Alex Vindman, a former lieutenant colonel who—despite being a Democrat—served as Director of European Affairs for Trump’s National Security Council until 2020.
Vindman is a strong supporter of war. With his brother he runs a company that aims to build weapons plants in Ukraine. He is a supporter of Israel and has refused to call its actions a genocide, but he also kept quiet about Israel during the campaign. He dodged questions about US support for the terror state and was not endorsed by Zionist lobby group Aipac.
Vindman was backed by America’s billionaires. He raised the equivalent of over £11 million against Nixon’s £700,000. Yet still Nixon took home 56 percent of the vote.
In her victory speech, Nixon said, “We have proved that everyday people are more powerful than corporations and billionaires.”
Jacksonville DSA chapter co-chair Nick Pettross told Socialist Worker they’re “very proud of Angie”, who is herself from Jacksonville.
“Angie has consistently shown up for the working class and oppressed minorities, specifically the black and queer communities, in the state of Florida,” he said.
“She has been a great ally and advocate of the Palestinian people and the cause of Palestinian self-determination. We are very happy to see a champion of working class politics and progressive movements win in Florida against a reactionary warmonger.”
Establishment Democrats attacked Nixon for her support for Palestine and for appearing at a rally with Rashida Tlaib—a Palestinian member of the US House of Representatives. She was endorsed by trade unions and anti-Zionist organisations such as Jewish Voice for Peace.
Nixon was also not endorsed by one of the DSA’s most prominent members, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is not endorsed by the organisation nationally and has moved considerably to the right in recent years.
Nixon is running on a platform of a $25 minimum wage and universal healthcare. But she’s also downplayed her DSA membership, and wasn’t formally endorsed by DSA chapters—though some “recommended” a vote for her.
The DSA instead focused its efforts on Oliver Larkin, running in another seat. He didn’t win. But he did get 36.5 percent of the vote against Aipac-backed Jared Moskowitz. It still represents a major shift for the American left.
DSA organiser Scott told Socialist Worker, “He’s our only federal candidate who was actually willing to defend our programme to a hostile audience on live TV. His campaign was also uniquely run by the DSA left.”
“He would’ve won in any seat actually favourable to the left, but they drew him into the most unfavourable seat humanly possible.”
A DSA member who took part in a phone bank campaign for Larkin told Socialist Worker, “I don’t hold any illusions in the south, I didn’t expect him to win, but it always stings when a candidate loses. This is Florida, the heart of the anti-Cuban movement, which is itself an anti-socialist movement. All things considered he did well.”
Larkin campaigned to “finish reconstruction”—a slogan of the DSA left that references the radical period after the US Civil War.
And Scott says that Larkin’s radical campaign won him the black and Latino vote.
DSA members in Florida are now considering having Larkin run educational sessions for members on how to talk to the media.
Florida is heavily gerrymandered to favour Republicans—something Nixon was arrested for protesting against earlier this year. It means it is unlikely she’ll win in November.
But her primary victory reflects a growing mood in the United States, the left is demanding change and breaking from the Democratic Party establishment.
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