A Stunning Win for the Left in Florida: 6 Takeaways From Tuesday’s Primaries

State Representative Angie Nixon, a progressive firebrand, defeated a moderate who dramatically out-raised her with grass-roots enthusiasm. Can it carry her to victory in November?

Primary Results Set for Florida’s Key Races

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In Florida, a democratic socialist defeated a far better-funded rival in the Democratic Senate primary as a Trump-backed congressman secured the Republican nomination for governor.CreditCredit…Saul Martinez for The New York Times
State Representative Angie Nixon, a progressive firebrand who ran such an underdog campaign that she could not afford a single television ad, won the Democratic Senate nomination in Florida on Tuesday in a shocking upset.

With her defeat of Alex Vindman, a candidate with establishment backing who raised more than 16 times as much campaign money, Ms. Nixon, a democratic socialist, continued the left’s winning streak this year in Democratic primaries.

Florida had appeared impervious to the prevailing political winds in recent election cycles, with Republicans doing exceptionally well in the state in 2022, in what was otherwise a strong year for Democrats. Ms. Nixon’s breakthrough victory, and losses by Republicans endorsed by President Trump in several Florida congressional primaries, suggested that maybe Florida is no longer quite as immune to national trends.

Here are six takeaways from Tuesday night’s primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming, and a special election in California:

Money is usually key to political campaigns in Florida, the nation’s third-largest state and home to 10 television markets. Ms. Nixon raised only $975,000, compared to Mr. Vindman’s more than $16.3 million. And she spent just $60,000 on advertising, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm, compared to his $2.2 million.

Mr. Vindman will face questions about why his campaign did not spend more introducing him to voters. But credit Ms. Nixon, a union organizer, for knowing how to harness the enthusiasm of grass-roots Democrats and volunteers — and deftly using social media — to inform them about her candidacy.

ImageMr. Vindman stands at a lectern decorated with a campaign sign, near his wife and a mural of servicemen raising a U.S. flag.
Alex Vindman, a moderate Democrat, vastly outspent Angie Nixon in Florida’s Democratic primary for Senate. It was not enough.Credit…Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A final weekend push in South Florida, home to many Democratic voters even as much of the region has trended toward Republicans, appears to have paid off: Ms. Nixon, who is from Jacksonville, defeated Mr. Vindman in Miami-Dade County, the state’s most populous, and in neighboring Broward County, where he lives.

Some of the most exciting elections for Florida Democrats over the past 20 years featured Black progressives named Barack Obama, who won the state twice, and Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee who lost a governor’s race by a hair in 2018. Ms. Nixon will surely try to learn from the coalitions they built and capitalize on the excitement that propelled her big win.

But neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. Gillum entered the general election with so little name recognition, campaign organization or money, all of which are needed to reach Florida’s giant and varied electorate.

Also: How will the democratic socialist label play? Ms. Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June, though the D.S.A. has not endorsed her candidacy. And Florida has gotten redder since Mr. Obama won the state in the 2008 and 2012 presidential races and Mr. Gillum narrowly lost the 2018 governor’s race. Senator Ashley Moody, the Republican incumbent who faced no serious primary opposition on Tuesday, is sitting on more than $8 million in campaign funds.
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Ms. Moody stands by a chair while holding a binder in a wood paneled room.
Senator Ashley Moody, the incumbent, is sitting on more than $8 million in her campaign account.Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Representative Byron Donalds, who has long had Mr. Trump’s endorsement in the president’s adopted home state, crushed his rivals in the Republican primary for Florida governor. He has far out-raised the Democratic nominee, former Representative David Jolly, a former Republican.

But Mr. Donalds did not break 50 percent on Tuesday, as some Florida Republicans had hoped. And he did not win some largely white, rural counties in North Florida. Mr. Donalds is Black. Some Republicans will be looking at his underperformance in those counties with concerns about whether some white Republicans will be unwilling to vote for a Black nominee, choosing to stay home in November instead.

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Mr. Donalds holds a microphone as he speaks to a crowd in front a large campaign sign.
Representative Byron Donalds won the Republican primary for Florida governor, but some in his party fretted that his vote tally did not surpass 50 percent.Credit…Martina Tuaty for The New York Times

Mr. Donalds dismissed concerns that he had not won a majority of the vote, telling reporters he would earn that support.

“They want the same thing we all want,” he said of Republicans who voted for his rivals. “We want a Florida that is based on common sense, law and order, freedom.”

Representative Cory Mills lost the Republican primary in Florida’s Seventh Congressional District to Ryan Elijah, a former local television news anchor, after Mr. Mills lost key support within his own party. Two House colleagues endorsed Mr. Elijah, saying they could not risk losing the Republican-leaning seat with a weak candidate.

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Mr. Mills stands next to a desk.
Representative Cory Mills lost his primary while facing a House ethics inquiry related to accusations that he sexually harassed two female former staffers.Credit…Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Mr. Mills faced a House Ethics Committee investigation related to allegations of assault and threatening behavior toward women. His ouster followed that of Representative Chuck Edwards of North Carolina, who was accused of sexually harassing two female former staffers and announced on Aug. 5 that he would not seek re-election. The next day, Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee lost a primary after drawing criticism for anti-Muslim remarks.

Representatives Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, both moderates facing liberal opponents, won their primaries. Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz, both moderate, pro-Israel Democrats, easily fended off rivals after Republican gerrymandering led them to compete in new districts. Ms. Wasserman Schultz, an 11-term incumbent, overcame frustration from Black Democrats who did not want her to represent a historically Black district. Mr. Moskowitz bested a democratic socialist.

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A voter’s legs are visible beneath the privacy curtain of a voting both.
Voters trickled into the First United Methodist Church in Anchorage on Tuesday.Credit…Ash Adams for The New York Times

Senator Dan Sullivan, the incumbent Republican, and former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, easily advanced to the general election ballot on Tuesday in Alaska’s Senate primary, setting up a highly anticipated matchup that could decide control of the Senate.

But the real intrigue was whether Dan J. Sullivan, a retired fifth-grade teacher accused by Republicans of being a Democratic plant to confuse voters and draw votes away from the other Mr. Sullivan, would join them. (The lesser-known Mr. Sullivan has denied the allegations.) Alaska’s nonpartisan primaries send the top four vote-getters to the general election, and many votes were yet to be counted.

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