Senate Nominee Angie Nixon Distances Herself From DSA Amid Reports of Florida Dem Infighting

Senate Nominee Angie Nixon Distances Herself From DSA Amid Reports of Florida Dem Infighting

Florida Democrats can’t ever seem to get it together, as evidenced by the Democratic establishment Senate candidate, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, losing big to state Rep. Angie Nixon in the Tuesday primary in what many political observers have described as a “shocking upset” considering Vindman’s massive fundraising advantage and how he was polling.

In the aftermath of Nixon’s surprising victory, there are already reports of more Democrat infighting in the Sunshine State, with Nixon and state party leader and failed 2022 gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried reportedly yelling at each other on a post-primary phone call over disagreements about Nixon’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) membership:

'Stop gaslighting me!': Florida Democrats' Senate nominee and party chair have heated call over socialism@hollyotterbein @apantazi & Ihttps://t.co/wq1KfylKKh

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 21, 2026

From the story:

Zoom in: Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who won the primary in a shocking upset over Alex Vindman earlier this week, expressed frustrations to Fried that she had not received sufficient help from the state party.

• Fried, in return, warned that Nixon’s ties to the DSA could give an opening to the GOP to attack her, sources told us.

According to two people who spoke with Nixon, both she and Fried yelled at each other during the call. Another person who spoke to Fried said the chair did not yell but was yelled at.

• “Nikki wants her to back away from DSA, from socialism,” said one person who spoke with Nixon. “She’s listening to other people saying that they’re afraid, they’re scared — the Jewish members and the Hispanic caucus. But to Angie, Nikki doesn’t want Angie to be who Angie is. Angie has already done the backing-away.”
• On the call, Nixon told Fried, “You never gave a care about me from the beginning, and now you’re telling me how to run my campaign?” according to the source.
• At one point, the source said, Nixon yelled, “Stop gaslighting me!”

If that recounting of the conversation is true, Fried would be smart not to be a fan of Angie Nixon “being who Angie is,” when one considers not just the deep unpopularity of socialism in Florida but also infamous stunts like this:

Florida Democrats just nominated the pink-megaphone lady.

The same Angie Nixon who marched the House floor during a vote, blasted colleagues with a bullhorn, got formally reprimanded, and later arrested at DeSantis’s office.

She’s a DSA member. This is their Senate candidate in…

— Louis Montoya (@montoyalouis1) August 19, 2026

Since Tuesday, Nixon has been making the rounds for interviews and has claimed in so many words that she primarily joined up with the DSA in June “to tap into its grassroots organizational network and because she supports its fights over housing, public education, corporate power and — above all — Medicare for All.”

But though she’s officially part of the DSA now, Nixon is claiming she’s not a socialist because she supposedly doesn’t agree with them on everything, like abolishing the Senate:

Nixon said she joined the DSA because it supported public housing, healthcare, helping homeless veterans and removing big money from politics, but rejected incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody’s characterization of her political identity.

“Ashley Moody knows that I’m not a socialist,” Nixon said. “I joined the DSA because I believe in them in regards to fighting for adequate public housing, as well as fighting for quality healthcare, as well as making sure that we are getting our veterans off the street, taking big money out of politics, right?”

[…]

Nixon explicitly rejected abolishing the Senate and drafting a new constitution. She also said she did not support defunding the military, although she called for greater scrutiny of defense spending. Nixon did not directly answer Welker’s question about lifting sanctions on Iran.

Fascinatingly, Nixon describes herself as a “capitalist” – but with caveats:

“I’m a capitalist who believes that we need some strong regulations,” Ms. Nixon told NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW” on Thursday.

Nixon’s Senate nomination has also further complicated Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly’s already long-shot chances of winning the governor’s race:

"I REJECT SOCIALISM:" Florida Democrat gubernatorial nominee David Jolly distances himself from the DSA member at the top of his ticket, Senate Democrat nominee Angie Nixon pic.twitter.com/kNognYxvSQ

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) August 19, 2026

Meanwhile, Rep. Byron Donalds (FL-19), the GOP gubernatorial nominee, is already tying both candidates together as “too far-left for Florida”:

Florida rejects socialism. Full stop. Just ask Floridians who came from Cuba and Venezuela — they’ll tell you.

Socialism is now the brand of the Democrat Party. David Jolly and Angela Nixon are too far-left for Florida. pic.twitter.com/rfCYjhTwcZ

— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) August 19, 2026

Though you never want to say never, nor get too cocky, to call the battle “uphill” for both Nixon and Jolly in their respective campaigns is quite the understatement, as explained by CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten:

It's amazing how Florida has basically been taken off the board for the Democrats.

Yes, it's the Senate election this year… But the GOP has been winning all the major races.

The GOP now has an 11 pt edge in party registration… in a state quickly gaining population! pic.twitter.com/KUgcWeVBCV

— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 21, 2026

That’s one of many things to thank Gov. Ron DeSantis for in his last year in office.

– Stacey Matthews has also written under the  pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –

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