Florida’s Democratic Party just handed its U.S. Senate nomination to a Democratic Socialists of America member who was arrested earlier this year for trespassing and resisting an officer. Now the party’s moderate wing is openly at war with its radical left.
State Representative Angie Nixon, an obscure lawmaker who overcame a 16-to-1 fundraising disadvantage, defeated establishment favorite Alex Vindman in last Tuesday’s primary. Vindman, the first-term congressman who became a “resistance” hero for his anti-Trump testimony, was supposed to be the safe pick. Instead, Florida Democrats chose a candidate who peddles all the DSA’s favorite radical tropes.
Nixon dismissed her arrest as a “protest.” She’ll now run alongside David Jolly, the former Republican congressman who switched parties and won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. In an election-night interview on MS NOW, Jolly explicitly distanced himself from the ideology his running mate embraces. “I reject socialism,” he said. “I’m a capitalist.”
Good luck with that campaign messaging.
The split is already creating chaos within Florida’s Democratic establishment. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a centrist who easily fended off a DSA-backed challenger in his own primary, didn’t mince words after his victory. He told Politico that DSA members are “anti-American at their core” and shouldn’t get security clearances.
Moskowitz put a conservative spin on a familiar phrase: “Florida is where DSA goes to die.”
That’s a Democrat talking about his party’s own Senate nominee.
The rumor mill in Florida is already buzzing with talk of moderate, pro-Israel Democratic bundlers raising money for Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in her race against Nixon. The same dynamic is reportedly playing out in Michigan, where DSA favorite Abdul El-Sayed faces his own electoral test.
Longtime establishment leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former Democratic National Committee chair, easily won her primary after switching districts due to redistricting. But she may soon be forced to pick a side in a fight that’s tearing her party apart.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the DSA. If Nixon loses in a landslide this November, and if El-Sayed goes down in Michigan, the socialist wing could be forced to retreat from the national scene entirely. Many establishment Democrats are quietly hoping for exactly that outcome.
On the Republican side, Tuesday’s primary told a simpler story. Rep. Byron Donalds cruised to the gubernatorial nomination as expected. James Fishback, a young investor running on what critics called an overtly racist platform, finished a very distant third despite endorsements from Tucker Carlson and various podcast personalities.
The internet, it turns out, really isn’t real life.
In Florida’s 6th Congressional District, Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine successfully fended off a challenge from Dan Bilzerian.
Florida hasn’t been a true swing state since Ron DeSantis became governor. Republicans have gained nearly 2 million registered voters on Democrats in the Sunshine State. The outcome of November’s statewide races isn’t in much doubt.
But if Florida isn’t competitive between the two parties anymore, it’s definitely competitive within them. The Sunshine State has become ground zero for the civil wars roiling both parties. Democrats are fighting over whether socialism belongs in their tent. Republicans are settling scores with the fringes of their coalition.
