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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigns with Democratic US Senate candidate and Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon during a Fighting Oligarchy Tour stop at The Cuban Club Courtyard in Tampa, Florida, on October 17, 2026.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
'She’s Going to Win,' Says Bernie Sanders After Weekend in Florida Backing Angie Nixon
"Trust me on this," Sanders said. "This is going to be a spark that is going to ignite the entire country."
Oct 19, 2026
Judging by the polls, progressive Democrat Angie Nixon faces an uphill battle as she contends for Florida’s US Senate seat. But after campaigning with her this weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders is confident she's being underestimated.
"She’s going to win," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on social media Sunday night, after making four stops across a state that's long been written off as a GOP stronghold.
"They say Florida is a red state, but you know what I'm hearing?" Sanders said. "Working people everywhere are sick and tired of the same old politics and policies. They want real change."
Nixon, a state representative and former labor leader, has already shown that calls for change can galvanize voters. Running on what she's called a "Working Families Guarantee"—which includes Medicare for All, free childcare, paid leave, and stronger bargaining power for workers—she unexpectedly defeated the better-funded, establishment-backed centrist Alex Vindman in August's Democratic primary.
In an election season where Republicans are expected to face a reckoning over rising prices and shameless self-enrichment by President Donald Trump and his allies, Nixon's message seems to be resonating in Florida. Despite the past decade's massive influx of wealthy retirees, a strong base of working-class supporters, particularly in Florida's politically neglected Black communities, has mobilized behind her.
At a rain-drenched rally in Tampa on Saturday, about 2,200 people watched as Nixon spoke with what the Tampa Bay Times called "a preacher’s charisma," hitting back at Republican Sen. Ashley Moody’s attempts to characterize her platform as "radical."
"If believing that a child with cancer should get treatment they need whether their parents can afford it or not is radical, then call me radical," Nixon thundered. "Then I guess I'm a radical, Ashley. I guess I'm radical as hell."
"Where I come from, none of that is radical," she continued. "That is just plain common sense. That is basic human decency."
Nixon has called for Moody to be jailed over her actions as the state's attorney general. In 2024, Moody approved the diversion of $10 million from a Medicaid fraud settlement—which would have benefited low-income Floridians, including children—to political campaigns supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and other Republicans.
"Are you all ready to fight back?" Nixon shouted to a roaring crowd in Tallahassee on Sunday. "Are you all ready to put an end to the corruption that's driving up our prices and ruining our democracy?"
"Well, I am ready, too!" she said, as supporters stood behind her waving signs reading "Freeze the Rent," "Tax Billionaires," and "Protect Social Security."
While recent polls still show Nixon trailing Moody in the final weeks of the campaign, her fundraising in the third quarter of the year has soared, and other major figures in the Democratic Party from progressives like Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) to establishment liberals like Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) have campaigned with her in person.
With gas prices continuing to soar as Trump threatens dramatic escalations in his war with Iran, signs of a coming electoral apocalypse for Republicans are flashing ever brighter.
Democrats now lead by around nine points on the generic congressional ballot, and Trump's approval has dipped to historic lows. The GOP's fundraising arms have begun diverting resources initially for swing states like Georgia and North Carolina to protect territory once thought safe—in South Carolina, Kansas, Ohio, and, yes, even Florida.
The 2026 cycle has already challenged the long-standing conventional wisdom that chasing Republicans to the right is a necessity to win voters in purple and red states.
With similar populist messaging, Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson are leading Republican opponents in Michigan and Maine, respectively. James Talarico is favored to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since the Clinton administration. Meanwhile, Dan Osborn, Josh Turek, Adam Hamilton, and Sherrod Brown are all hanging tough in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024.
But a win by Nixon—a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who, unlike other progressives, won her primary largely with support from the state's lowest-income, least college-educated constituencies—would signify more than just a backlash to "the most dangerous president in the history of the United States," Sanders said.
"This election is not only important for the people of Florida in getting a senator who is going to fight for you," Sanders told the Tallahassee crowd. "Trust me on this, after Angie wins, this is going to be a spark that is going to ignite the entire country."
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Judging by the polls, progressive Democrat Angie Nixon faces an uphill battle as she contends for Florida’s US Senate seat. But after campaigning with her this weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders is confident she's being underestimated.
"She’s going to win," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on social media Sunday night, after making four stops across a state that's long been written off as a GOP stronghold.
"They say Florida is a red state, but you know what I'm hearing?" Sanders said. "Working people everywhere are sick and tired of the same old politics and policies. They want real change."
Nixon, a state representative and former labor leader, has already shown that calls for change can galvanize voters. Running on what she's called a "Working Families Guarantee"—which includes Medicare for All, free childcare, paid leave, and stronger bargaining power for workers—she unexpectedly defeated the better-funded, establishment-backed centrist Alex Vindman in August's Democratic primary.
In an election season where Republicans are expected to face a reckoning over rising prices and shameless self-enrichment by President Donald Trump and his allies, Nixon's message seems to be resonating in Florida. Despite the past decade's massive influx of wealthy retirees, a strong base of working-class supporters, particularly in Florida's politically neglected Black communities, has mobilized behind her.
At a rain-drenched rally in Tampa on Saturday, about 2,200 people watched as Nixon spoke with what the Tampa Bay Times called "a preacher’s charisma," hitting back at Republican Sen. Ashley Moody’s attempts to characterize her platform as "radical."
"If believing that a child with cancer should get treatment they need whether their parents can afford it or not is radical, then call me radical," Nixon thundered. "Then I guess I'm a radical, Ashley. I guess I'm radical as hell."
"Where I come from, none of that is radical," she continued. "That is just plain common sense. That is basic human decency."
Nixon has called for Moody to be jailed over her actions as the state's attorney general. In 2024, Moody approved the diversion of $10 million from a Medicaid fraud settlement—which would have benefited low-income Floridians, including children—to political campaigns supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and other Republicans.
"Are you all ready to fight back?" Nixon shouted to a roaring crowd in Tallahassee on Sunday. "Are you all ready to put an end to the corruption that's driving up our prices and ruining our democracy?"
"Well, I am ready, too!" she said, as supporters stood behind her waving signs reading "Freeze the Rent," "Tax Billionaires," and "Protect Social Security."
While recent polls still show Nixon trailing Moody in the final weeks of the campaign, her fundraising in the third quarter of the year has soared, and other major figures in the Democratic Party from progressives like Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) to establishment liberals like Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) have campaigned with her in person.
With gas prices continuing to soar as Trump threatens dramatic escalations in his war with Iran, signs of a coming electoral apocalypse for Republicans are flashing ever brighter.
Democrats now lead by around nine points on the generic congressional ballot, and Trump's approval has dipped to historic lows. The GOP's fundraising arms have begun diverting resources initially for swing states like Georgia and North Carolina to protect territory once thought safe—in South Carolina, Kansas, Ohio, and, yes, even Florida.
The 2026 cycle has already challenged the long-standing conventional wisdom that chasing Republicans to the right is a necessity to win voters in purple and red states.
With similar populist messaging, Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson are leading Republican opponents in Michigan and Maine, respectively. James Talarico is favored to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since the Clinton administration. Meanwhile, Dan Osborn, Josh Turek, Adam Hamilton, and Sherrod Brown are all hanging tough in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024.
But a win by Nixon—a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who, unlike other progressives, won her primary largely with support from the state's lowest-income, least college-educated constituencies—would signify more than just a backlash to "the most dangerous president in the history of the United States," Sanders said.
"This election is not only important for the people of Florida in getting a senator who is going to fight for you," Sanders told the Tallahassee crowd. "Trust me on this, after Angie wins, this is going to be a spark that is going to ignite the entire country."
Judging by the polls, progressive Democrat Angie Nixon faces an uphill battle as she contends for Florida’s US Senate seat. But after campaigning with her this weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders is confident she's being underestimated.
"She’s going to win," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on social media Sunday night, after making four stops across a state that's long been written off as a GOP stronghold.
"They say Florida is a red state, but you know what I'm hearing?" Sanders said. "Working people everywhere are sick and tired of the same old politics and policies. They want real change."
Nixon, a state representative and former labor leader, has already shown that calls for change can galvanize voters. Running on what she's called a "Working Families Guarantee"—which includes Medicare for All, free childcare, paid leave, and stronger bargaining power for workers—she unexpectedly defeated the better-funded, establishment-backed centrist Alex Vindman in August's Democratic primary.
In an election season where Republicans are expected to face a reckoning over rising prices and shameless self-enrichment by President Donald Trump and his allies, Nixon's message seems to be resonating in Florida. Despite the past decade's massive influx of wealthy retirees, a strong base of working-class supporters, particularly in Florida's politically neglected Black communities, has mobilized behind her.
At a rain-drenched rally in Tampa on Saturday, about 2,200 people watched as Nixon spoke with what the Tampa Bay Times called "a preacher’s charisma," hitting back at Republican Sen. Ashley Moody’s attempts to characterize her platform as "radical."
"If believing that a child with cancer should get treatment they need whether their parents can afford it or not is radical, then call me radical," Nixon thundered. "Then I guess I'm a radical, Ashley. I guess I'm radical as hell."
"Where I come from, none of that is radical," she continued. "That is just plain common sense. That is basic human decency."
Nixon has called for Moody to be jailed over her actions as the state's attorney general. In 2024, Moody approved the diversion of $10 million from a Medicaid fraud settlement—which would have benefited low-income Floridians, including children—to political campaigns supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and other Republicans.
"Are you all ready to fight back?" Nixon shouted to a roaring crowd in Tallahassee on Sunday. "Are you all ready to put an end to the corruption that's driving up our prices and ruining our democracy?"
"Well, I am ready, too!" she said, as supporters stood behind her waving signs reading "Freeze the Rent," "Tax Billionaires," and "Protect Social Security."
While recent polls still show Nixon trailing Moody in the final weeks of the campaign, her fundraising in the third quarter of the year has soared, and other major figures in the Democratic Party from progressives like Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) to establishment liberals like Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) have campaigned with her in person.
With gas prices continuing to soar as Trump threatens dramatic escalations in his war with Iran, signs of a coming electoral apocalypse for Republicans are flashing ever brighter.
Democrats now lead by around nine points on the generic congressional ballot, and Trump's approval has dipped to historic lows. The GOP's fundraising arms have begun diverting resources initially for swing states like Georgia and North Carolina to protect territory once thought safe—in South Carolina, Kansas, Ohio, and, yes, even Florida.
The 2026 cycle has already challenged the long-standing conventional wisdom that chasing Republicans to the right is a necessity to win voters in purple and red states.
With similar populist messaging, Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson are leading Republican opponents in Michigan and Maine, respectively. James Talarico is favored to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since the Clinton administration. Meanwhile, Dan Osborn, Josh Turek, Adam Hamilton, and Sherrod Brown are all hanging tough in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024.
But a win by Nixon—a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who, unlike other progressives, won her primary largely with support from the state's lowest-income, least college-educated constituencies—would signify more than just a backlash to "the most dangerous president in the history of the United States," Sanders said.
"This election is not only important for the people of Florida in getting a senator who is going to fight for you," Sanders told the Tallahassee crowd. "Trust me on this, after Angie wins, this is going to be a spark that is going to ignite the entire country."
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