As Florida’s 2026 U.S. Senate race heats up, Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon is campaigning on a platform centered around affordability, economic fairness and government accountability. The Jacksonville lawmaker says she’s running because too many Floridians are struggling with rising housing costs, groceries, insurance and childcare while wages fail to keep pace. Nixon is facing retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat. The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 General Election to face Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to the seat in 2025 following Marco Rubio’s resignation to become U.S. Secretary of State.
Here are five things to know about her campaign.
1. She’s a Jacksonville native who says her life experiences shaped her political priorities.
Nixon is a Jacksonville native, born and raised in the city. According to her campaign, she watched her mother work two jobs to support the family, attended under-resourced public schools and later lost a cousin to gun violence. She says those experiences inspired her to fight for working families, better public education and economic opportunity. Before serving in the Legislature, Nixon worked as a union organizer and led Florida For All, a statewide civic engagement organization.
2. She was arrested after staging a sit-in protest at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
In May 2026, Nixon was arrested by Capitol Police after spending roughly five hours staging a sit-in outside Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. According to the Miami Herald, Nixon said she wanted to meet with the governor’s staff to discuss Florida’s affordability crisis and also protested newly approved congressional maps that she argued favored Republicans. She and two other protesters were arrested after refusing to leave when the Capitol closed. Days earlier, she had also been formally reprimanded by the Florida House following a megaphone protest during debate over the congressional maps.
3. Her campaign is focused on lowering the cost of living.
Affordability is the centerpiece of Nixon’s Senate campaign. She says Floridians are being squeezed by soaring housing costs, property insurance, groceries and childcare expenses. Her platform calls for building more affordable housing, expanding rental assistance, cracking down on corporate landlords, increasing wages, protecting workers’ rights and taking action against corporate price gouging.
4. She wants to reduce government spending on wars and invest more at home.
Nixon argues that federal priorities should shift away from military intervention and toward domestic investments. Her campaign says the United States should rely first on diplomacy and international cooperation to resolve conflicts instead of unilateral military action. She says federal resources should instead be invested in healthcare, education, housing and other programs that directly benefit working families.
5. Her economic plan targets billionaires and corporations rather than middle-class families.
Nixon’s economic agenda includes a proposed wealth tax on billionaires, closing corporate tax loopholes, taxing capital gains at the same rate as wages, strengthening IRS enforcement against high-dollar tax evasion and using additional revenue to fund affordable housing, healthcare and direct relief for working families. She also says she wants government to focus on raising wages and creating an economy that works for everyday Floridians instead of wealthy special interests.
Learn More
Nixon currently serves as a Democratic state representative representing Jacksonville and is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. Her campaign describes her as a union organizer, mother and advocate for working families who has focused her legislative work on affordability, childcare, voting rights and economic fairness. In Miami-Dade County, voters can begin casting their ballots from Aug. 3 through Aug. 16. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, early voting runs Aug. 8 through Aug. 16. Florida’s Primary Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, when voters will choose party nominees for federal, state and local races, including the Democratic nominee for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat.
Editorial note: The policy positions described are based on the candidate’s official campaign platform.
More information about her campaign and policy positions is available on her official campaign website: Angie Nixon for U.S. Senate
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