Angie Nixon, who achieved a stunning upset Tuesday night to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Florida, credits her victory to a robust campaign grass-roots campaign operation and focusing on economic issues to make life more affordable for Floridians.
In an interview on MS NOW's Morning Joe the day after her primary win with host Joe Scarborough, Nixon also addressed a wide range of topics going into her race in November against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
"We knew we were gonna win because we go out and talk to people and have conversations with folks," Nixon told MS NOW.
"Working to increase the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour before I became a state lawmaker, working to stop price gouging while I was a state lawmaker, also expanding access to early childhood education for low-income and hardworking people. And those are the things that Floridians and Americans care about," she said.
READ MORE: Angie Nixon, progressive Jacksonville firebrand, wins Democratic primary for U.S. Senate
Nixon is a longtime labor organizer who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America. She has championed policies like universal healthcare and childcare and has been an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy and the war in Gaza.
In May, Nixon protested the Republican-controlled Florida legislature’s redistricting of the state’s congressional maps by shouting through a megaphone on the state House floor. She was later reprimanded by an ethics committee but earned plaudits from Democratic allies and voting rights groups for her demonstration.
Her Democratic primary opponent, Alex Vindman, raised about $16 million in his race and spent more than $9 million by the end of July. Nixon raised less than $1 million and relied on targeting voters on social media. She was backed by prominent online figures like children’s education influencer Ms. Rachel.
"[Voters] are frankly just tired and fed up of these politicians, these corrupt politicians like unelected Ashley Moody and Donald Trump, who are in Washington working less but getting richer," she told MS NOW. "Meanwhile, folks like us, everyday people who are working harder than ever, basically have nothing to show for, and that's been resonating."
"People know I'm not a politician. They know I'm someone that's just like them, and I'm a public servant that's gonna fight for them," she added."
Here are some other issues Nixon addressed during her MS NOW interview.
On supporting Medicare for All and universal health care
Nixon noted that Floridians represent the largest group of enrollees on the Affordable Care Act marketplace in the nation and sharply criticized Moody over her opposition to extend ACA subsidies earlier this year.
"Unelected Ashley Moody decided to vote against extending the ACA subsidies, which knocked nearly three hundred thousand people off the ACA marketplace," Nixon said.
Moody, Florida's former state attorney general, was selected by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the seat last year after Marco Rubio vacated it when Trump chose him as secretary of state.
On supporting universal child care
And so not only that, but childcare here in our state, it ranges anywhere from eight hundred dollars to twenty-four hundred dollars. Universal
"Childcare is something that we need," Nixon told MS Now, claiming that every dollar spent by the government would return three dollars back tp the economy "because it allows parents to be able to work."
Added Nixon: "I am a mother of five. Me and my husband have a blended family. I have a five-year-old right now. Do you know how much we need childcare, and that'll free us up to not have to worry about things?"
police, abolishing prisons, and opening up the border again.
On defunding the police
Nixon said she does not support defunding the police, a position the Democratic Socialists of America supports. She joined the DSA in June but said she does not support every position taken by the DSA.
"I don't support defunding the police," she told MS NOW. "I do support comprehensive criminal justice reform to make sure we are addressing some of the root causes of people leading into a life of crime."
On abolishing prisons
Nixon said she does not support abolishing prisons, a position the DSA does promote.
"What I do support is abolishing for-profit prisons because they exploit labor, and they usher many of our children into the school-to-prison pipeline," she told MS NOW.
"There has been an attack on public education here in our state and across our country, and that leads to children winding up in the school-to-prison pipeline," she said.
On 'open borders' and immigration to the U.S.
Nixon said she does not support "open borders" but does support a "clear, comprehensive, and compassionate pathway to citizenship" Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
The Trump administration ended TPS for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants, and the Supreme Court has ruled the actions as legal. South Florida is home to the nation's largest number of Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants.
On supporting Israel and the Israel war in Gaza
Nixon told MS NOW that the U.S. should halt foreign and military aid to Israel, calling Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal."
"What's happening in Israel and in Palestine is not good for Israelis or Palestinians," Nixon said. "I do not support sending any money or any weapons to Israel at this moment."
Nixon sharply criticized Israel's Netanyahu, saying "he is a war criminal who needs to answer to his crimes."
The war in Gaza began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants in Gaza attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people. Hamas fighters also took 251 people hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 73,377 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
"I believe in the safety and wellbeing and dignity of all people, and I want to ensure that when it comes to military aid or aid to any country outside of the US, that we heavily scrutinize it," Nixon said.
She added: "We need to make sure that we're putting Americans first before we go in and start sending money or military aid to any country outside of the U.S."
