Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon pulled off a major upset Tuesday (August 18), defeating former Trump administration official Army Lt. Col Alex Vindman to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Nixon’s victory was one of two major wins for Black candidates in Florida’s primaries, with Rep. Byron Donalds securing the Republican nomination for Governor.
According to Politico, Nixon—a Jacksonville member of the Democratic Socialists of America—overcame Vindman’s significant fundraising advantage to secure the nomination. Vindman raised over $16 million compared with about $975,000 for Nixon, according to The New York Times.
Vindman, a former National Security Council official, gained national attention after testifying in Trump’s first impeachment case in 2019, according to KCRA 3 News.
Nixon will face Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who won the GOP primary, in November.
The longtime union organizer celebrated her victory by pushing back against criticism that her politics are too extreme.
“I don’t know about you but I was taught to love my neighbors,” Nixon said in her victory speech. “They call me extreme but these things are not radical. They are not extreme.” She added, “Ashley Moody can call us whatever she wants. But in November she will call me Senator.”
In Florida’s gubernatorial race, Donalds secured the Republican nomination after defeating several GOP challengers. Donalds, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will face former Rep. David Jolly, a Democrat, in November.
The New York Times recently profiled Donalds’ political rise, tracing his path from a Tea Party activist in 2010 to a Florida state legislator in 2016 and, in 2020, a member of Congress and nationally recognized Republican figure.
If elected in November, Donalds would become Florida’s first Black governor.
Donalds’ and Nixon’s primary victories mean both major parties will have Black nominees in Florida’s two highest-profile statewide races.
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