Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Angie Nixon, U.S. Senate, Florida
When Donald Trump took power for the second time in early 2025, his first Cabinet pick was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida for Secretary of State (although he has taken on a number of informal roles in the Cabinet, like National Security Advisor, USAID administrator/executioner, and Archivist of the United States). Trump appointed Ashley Moody, the Attorney General of Florida, to take Rubio’s place.
Now, finally, Governor Ron DeSantis has scheduled the special election for the Senate seat for November 3, Election Day. But first, there is a primary for this race, on August 18. Angie Nixon (she/her), a Florida State Representative, is running of the Democratic nomination. There has not been a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from Florida since 2018. Angie is a Black millennial ally to and fighter for the LGBTQ+ community who advocates for economic justice for the working class: a $25 minimum wage, rent stabilization, curbing corporate purchasing of residential housing, protecting reproductive rights, Medicare for All, and universal childcare and Pre-K.
Angie co-wrote a children’s book with her daughter called The Adventures of Moxie McGriff to help her embrace her natural hair, which ultimately transformed into a movement to boost self-esteem in young Black girls. She co-founded the Melanin Market in Jacksonville, FL, to provide healthy food options in a food desert while supporting local minority-owned small businesses. Angie also owns a bookstore and coffee shop in Jacksonville called Cafe Resistance, which she specifically created to serve as a community hub, provide free tutoring, and proudly stock the books that extremist Republicans in Florida are trying to ban. In May of this year, Angie was reprimanded by the Florida State House because for protesting the racist new congressional voting maps and she is now being prosecuted by DeSantis for peacefully protesting these maps in his office after he refused to meet with her.
Where are you based?
Jacksonville, FL
What is your position/what position are you running for?
I am currently a Florida State Representative and am running in the special election for the United States Senate to represent Florida.
How would you briefly summarize your platform?
People over profit. My platform is all about returning power and economic stability to the working class. That means fighting for a $25 minimum wage, enacting federal rent stabilization, fighting for Medicare for All, and fiercely protecting fundamental freedoms like reproductive healthcare.
What inspired you to run?
I’m a working-class mom who has actually lived the struggles most politicians only talk about. I’ve been a single mom. I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck and have felt the crushing weight of medical bills and skyrocketing costs. I decided to run for Senate because I’m sick and tired of watching millionaire establishment politicians, corporate landlords, and extremist culture warriors use Florida as a political playground while the rest of us suffer. We need people in Washington who actually know what it means to struggle and will aggressively fight back to make Florida a better place to live for everyone.
Angie protesting the Florida redistricting vote on the House floor.
What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I want to bring more real, working-class representation to the U.S. Senate. For far too long, the Senate has basically been a country club for rich establishment politicians. I want to pass federal legislation that stops private equity firms from buying up single-family homes, holds corporate price-gougers accountable, and guarantees healthcare as a human right so no one ever has to go bankrupt trying to care for themselves or a loved one.
How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I’ve served in the Florida House since 2020. I am most proud of my consistent, unapologetic resistance to the right-wing extremism that has taken over our state. Whether it was organizing communities to pass Amendment 4 for reproductive rights, fighting for the 158,000 Haitian Floridians losing their Temporary Protected Status, or protesting on the House floor to fight rigged racist voting maps, I’m showing up to prove that we don’t have to quietly accept authoritarianism. Outside of this important work, my biggest accomplishments are building my family and creating real community hubs for my neighbors. I’m an organizer at heart, and I love helping people.
© Phil Sears
What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
The affordability crisis and the assault on our democracy are the two biggest crises we face right now. Working families are being crushed by rent hikes, unaffordable property insurance, and the cost of groceries, while politicians try to distract us with culture wars and literal wars. I want federal caps on rent increases, I want to tax the ultra-rich, and I want to stop corporate monopolies from price-gouging. At the same time, we have to codify reproductive rights federally and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act so our fundamental freedoms aren’t left up to rogue state legislatures.
America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
By focusing on the reality we all share in the working class. It doesn’t matter if you live in a deep red rural county or the heart of Miami — if your child gets sick, or your rent goes up, or you are deciding between groceries and the electric bill, you’re feeling the same pain. When we focus on material conditions like putting food on the table, keeping a roof over our heads, and making sure our kids are safe and healthy, we realize we all have way more in common with each other than we do with the corporate billionaires trying to divide us.
© Jackie Llanos
How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
Being a Black woman, a mother, and an organizer from the South means I have been fighting for survival and equity for my entire life. I don’t look, sound, or govern like a traditional politician because I’m not one. I will never sell out the working class because the working class is who I am and who I will always fight for.
What is your motto in life?
Change can’t wait.
Where can we find out more about you?
You can visit my campaign site at angienixon.com, and follow me on social media at @angieforfl.
Facebook: angieforfl
X: AngieNixon
Instagram: angieforfl
Tiktok: angieforfl
Bluesky: angieforfl
Youtube: AngieForFL
Angie Nixon (she/her), a Florida State Representative, is running of the Democratic nomination. There has not been a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from Florida since 2018. Angie is a Black millennial ally to and fighter for the LGBTQ+ community who advocates for economic justice for the working class: a $25 minimum wage, rent stabilization, curbing corporate purchasing of residential housing, protecting reproductive rights, Medicare for All, and universal childcare and Pre-K.
Angie co-wrote a children’s book with her daughter called The Adventures of Moxie McGriff to help her embrace her natural hair, which ultimately transformed into a movement to boost self-esteem in young Black girls. She co-founded the Melanin Market in Jacksonville, FL, to provide healthy food options in a food desert while supporting local minority-owned small businesses. Angie also owns a bookstore and coffee shop in Jacksonville called Cafe Resistance, which she specifically created to serve as a community hub, provide free tutoring, and proudly stock the books that extremist Republicans in Florida are trying to ban. In May of this year, Angie was reprimanded by the Florida State House because for protesting the racist new congressional voting maps and she is now being prosecuted by DeSantis for peacefully protesting these maps in his office after he refused to meet with her.