State Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville will run for the U.S. Senate in a campaign she says will give voice to fears Florida residents have about losing ground on civil rights and the buying power of their paychecks.
Nixon, who has served in the state House since 2020, is among the Democrats lining up in the race against Sen. Ashley Moody, a Republican appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Senate seat.
“This campaign isn’t about me,” Nixon said. “This campaign is about ensuring that the people of the state of Florida have a fighting chance to not just survive but actually thrive and to flourish.”
Nixon said she’ll draw on the campaign strategy she used when she defeated incumbent Kimberly Daniels in 2020 for a House seat.
Florida Rep. Angie Nixon speaks Monday, Aug. 28, 2023 at James Weldon Johnson Park in downtown Jacksonville, Fla. In light of the recent shooting at the Dollar General, that left three African-American individuals dead, hundreds came out to rally against white supremacy.
“I’m a grass-roots candidate,” she said. “I’m an organizer.”
She said Florida residents are “tired of being in a country where the system is rigged” while they see an erosion of their civil rights and struggle to pay bills because of rising costs for rent and insurance.
“If you are tired of that, then you need to join my movement, join this movement, join our movement so that we can actually build a country that works for everyone,” she said.
Nixon, who has made “Unbought and Unbossed” a theme for her state House races and her Senate campaign, isn’t known for any signature legislation during her time in the House.
But she has taken public stands against actions by DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature. She organized a sit-in on the House floor protesting redistricting plan that diminished Black voter power in north Florida.
She has worked as executive director of Florida for All, a coalition that includes Service Employees International Union Florida, Florida Rising, FLIC Votes and Dream Defenders. Florida for All has registered new voters and endorsed candidates across the state.
She won re-election with 81% of the vote in 2024 when challenger Brenda Priestly Jackson said Nixon had put protest politics above passing laws and getting appropriations for her constitutents.
Rep. Angie Nixon listens during the joint session Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.
Nixon has said her push for programs such as expansion of child care ended up in legislation carried by other lawmakers.
Her successful runs for the state House of Representatives have been in a heavily Democratic district, a makeup that doesn’t exist statewide where Republicans have swept races. But she said with her message in the Senate campaign, “I do believe it’s winnable race.”
The top vote-getter in the Democratic Party primary in August will advance to meet Moody in the November general election.
DeSantis appointed Moody to fill the seat that became vacant when President Donald Trump selected Marco Rubio as secretary of state. The election in November will determine whether Moody or a Democrat fills out the remainder of that term in the Senate.
Nixon said Moody’s opposition to extending federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans is intensifying the economic stress on Florida residents.
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“There is a crushing affordability crisis and Ashley Moody is doing nothing about it,” Nixon said. “She is propping up and protecting greedy billionaires and corrupt corporations. She’s also just not showing up in the community when people need it the most.”
Nixon said she won’t be making an endorsement in the race to replace her in District 13 for the state House.
“I’m just going to tell the great constituents of District 13 to do their research,” she said. “But I’m focused on my race. I’ve got to run statewide.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida House Rep. Angie Nixon will run for U.S. Senate