The Democratic Party’s race to the left continued this week with a new win from a member of the Democratic Socialists of America – this time in Florida of all places.
In Tuesday’s primary, DSA member Angie Nixon defeated retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and prominent Trump #Resistance champ Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Nixon, who advocates for abolishing ICE, free childcare, and a nationwide rent freeze, will now take on incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed last year to replace Marco Rubio when he became President Trump’s Secretary of State.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth of RealClearPolitics to talk about Nixon’s surprise victory and what it says about the strength of the DSA.
Meet Angie Nixon
During her victory speech Tuesday night, Nixon laid out her vision for Florida. “A Florida where working families can thrive, where we have what we need, like good-paying jobs, like a 25-dollar minimum wage, affordable healthcare so no one goes bankrupt simply for trying to stay alive,” she bellowed to the cheering crowd.
She then had a message for Moody. “They call us extreme, they call us radical, but I think people see through that… So, Ashley Moody can call it whatever she wants. She can call us whatever she wants. But in November, she will call me senator,” Nixon declared.
Nixon went on to use the same line in an interview with CNN, albeit with a more threatening tone. “So, I look forward, Ashley Moody, to taking you on and to whooping you in November, and you will be calling me your senator,” she blustered to a visibly surprised Laura Coates.
The bravado is not necessarily new for Nixon, who has served in the Florida State House since 2020. There is a video going around social media showing her yelling into a hot pink megaphone while wearing a matching hot pink jumpsuit on the floor of the State House earlier this year during the state’s redistricting battle. She shouted about not allowing people “to destroy our democracy,” and her shouts got progressively louder as someone off camera tried to restore order.
Bevan said this “fighter” persona could play well with some factions of the left, though he doesn’t see it translating to the general election. “Both sides want fighters… They want people who are going to fight, and there has to be a level of indignation and outrage, but also you want happy warriors… The sort of angry, bitter thing doesn’t wear well over time, and certainly doesn’t wear well in a general election setting,” he said.
Cannon said the DSA moniker, which Nixon only adopted partway through her campaign, could also prove detrimental. “She affiliated herself with DSA just a little while ago in the middle of this campaign, and it is… unclear to me why she did. I guess she wanted the nomination, but I think that probably renders her unelectable in the general election,” he noted.
To that point, he said Nixon was on Morning Joe Wednesday already trying to moderate. “She was trying to walk some of it back this morning… They said, ‘So, do you favor abolishing prisons?’ And she said, ‘No, I favor abolishing privately owned prisons.’ This is a mainstream view, so I don’t really know if she is DSA or not. But clearly, in the Democratic primary, that affiliation now helps you all over the country,” Cannon explained.
But she is still going to have to answer for her past positions, like the time she claimed drag shows are perfectly appropriate for children during an appearance on MediasTouch during the campaign.
“I don’t understand, like there is no sexualization at a drag show. It’s just people dressing up and singing and performing,” Nixon claimed. “I’ve taken my children to drag shows, and it’s fun… It’s wholesome entertainment, and it’s nothing wrong. It’s just like I don’t, I don’t get it.”
Megyn said Nixon’s “militant” style is going to be a “turnoff to more moderate voters” – as is the fact that she is a “loon when it comes to social issues just like most of these DSA-types.”
Nixon vs. Moody
Earlier this month, DSA candidate Francesca Wong narrowly lost her Democratic primary in the Wisconsin governor’s race despite polls showing her with a double-digit lead against the establishment-backed candidate. There were questions as to whether that signaled the far-left had lost some momentum this primary cycle, but the answer, at least in Florida, is no.
However, that doesn’t necessarily help the Democratic Party in November. In Bevan’s view, the Dems picking up this Senate seat “was a long shot to begin with” and now “it is almost hopeless for the Democrats.” He doesn’t expect to see the party “put any money or time” into this race.
Walworth agreed. “I think this is a sacrifice. They’ve given up a seat, which they probably would have lost anyway. [Moody is] former attorney general, now senator. She has won twice statewide. She is a pretty good candidate. She is vetted. She is probably going to win this thing in a walk now,” he predicted.
DSA Still Winning
Even so, Bevan admitted Nixon’s win shows “the power” the DSA has even in red states like Florida. Shr won despite having raised just $975,000, according to federal campaign filings, compared to her opponent’s $16.3 million. Even the prediction markets had her as the underdog going into primary day, with Kalshi giving her a less than 10 percent chance until results started coming in.
“After Wisconsin, there were a lot of stories about: Is this the end of the DSA, have they hit a wall, have they lost their momentum? Well, Francesca Hong was not a very good candidate, and she only lost by like 3,000 votes in Wisconsin. So, to me, it was the opposite,” he explained.
“The DSA, initially, was only [winning] in these deep-blue districts, but now they’ve won in Michigan, they almost won in Wisconsin, they’ve won in Florida in statewide races,” Bevan continued. “I think this proves that the DSA is growing in stature among the Democrats and not stopped in any way.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Bevan, Cannon, and Walworth by tuning in to episode 1,382 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.