U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic nominee Angie Nixon visited Tallahassee at The Moon on Sunday, Oct.18, 16 days ahead of Election Day, rallying a crowd of residents, FAMU, FSU, and TSC students for Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour.
Peter Albu/FSView & Florida Flam
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
On a chilly Sunday evening in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined hands with Democratic Nominee Angie Nixon at The Moon 16 days ahead of Election Day. Sanders and Nixon teamed up across Florida over the weekend with well-attended events in Tampa, Melbourne, and Gainesville, leading up to the night in Tallahassee.
The event, part of Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” nationwide tour, brought Tallahassee natives, students across the capital’s three higher education institutions, and fans of the movement together to rally in a state that favored President Donald Trump by 13% in 2024.
“I am here because this is the most important midterm election in modern history, period, end of sentence,” Sanders said at the rally.
Nixon is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody and is polling behind her competition. She isn’t unfamiliar with long odds, winning an upset victory against Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the August primary. Vindman had a 16 to 1 funding advantage over Nixon, who pulled ahead with 56.1% of votes.
“Sometimes you [have to] get in good trouble, necessary trouble,” Nixon said in reference to her arrest after a sit-in protest in the office of Gov. Ron Desantis. “I am running for the United States Senate because I’m tired of watching corrupt politicians like Ashley Moody get richer and richer while the rest of us work harder and harder and still struggle just to barely make it.”
Anticipation mounts
Doors opened at 6 p.m., but the speaking portion began at 8. Singer Thrin Vianale of winded, an indie-rock shoegaze band founded by Florida State alumni, played a set at 7:20 p.m.
“In my lifetime, we never had a chance to have such a transformational United States senator from the state of Florida,” Tallahassee mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow said to the FSView before the event. “I think she’s really tapped into what everybody’s feeling: we’ve had enough of this administration, and we want to do something different. I’ve watched Angie in the Florida house. I know she’s the fighter that can get it done.”
The FSView spoke to retired Deputy Staff Director and Vice-Chair of the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) Judy Mount before Nixon or Sanders came to the stage. Mount has supported Nixon throughout her political career.
When asked what she was excited to see, Mount said, “I’ll probably just end up crying,” Mount said. “The only thing I can find negative about Angie is that she’s a [University of Florida] Gator.”
A night spent fighting oligarchy
The night featured a series of notable guests, local and national. North Florida Director for Nixon’s campaign, Amina Kamau, opened the show with chants. 2023 Mr. FAMU Devin Nobles Jr. also helped fire up the crowd. Jose Collantes, an FSU student government leader and English major, followed, offering his support in a speech.
While Collantes and Nobles spoke inside, Sanders charged up the overflow crowd outside.
“In my view, we have a president who is the most dangerous president in the history of the United States,” Sanders said. “This is a person who does not believe in democracy. He is an authoritarian … a pathological liar … running a corrupt administration.”
Back inside The Moon, mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow followed Collantes to applause.
“For too long, we’ve seen insiders dominate City Hall and push policies that work for establishment interests, but not for the rest of us,” Matlow said. “When I first ran for city commission, we went up against the entire political establishment and won by 332 votes. Don’t let them tell you your vote doesn’t count.”
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida) also made an appearance, introducing Nixon and Sanders and delivering a brief tirade on Senator Moody. He brought up the recent grand jury report that found the DeSantis team, including Moody, “misused” over $10 million by diverting them to the Hope Florida Foundation.
“You have two easy choices: someone who works on behalf of the billionaires and mega corporations, or someone that works on behalf of you,” Frost said to the FSView after the rally. “We don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican or someone who’s never voted before. You might not agree with Angie on 100% of the issues, but she’s gonna fight for you 100% of the time.”
Both he and Nixon have previously worked on Senator Sanders’ Presidential campaigns, something they both mentioned during the event.
Angie Nixon takes the stage
Nixon then came out to Jay Rock’s “WIN,” dancing with the crowd.
“Are y’all ready for Election Day?” Nixon said. “Are y’all ready to fight back? Are you ready to win? Are you all ready to put an end to the corruption that’s driving up our prices and ruining our democracy? I am ready too, and I am ready to go to Washington to fight for you.”
Nixon’s night touched on all of the bases of her campaign. She addressed the cost of living crisis, unionization, immigration, healthcare, the environment, and artificial intelligence policy in her half-hour on stage. She brought up her competition as well, calling Moody “lying, cheating, scamming, scheming Ashley Moody” several times.
“What we know more than anything is that energy wins elections,” Democratic State Committeewoman and Walton County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Samantha Hope-Herring said to the FSView at the event. “When you see a candidate that has the energy that you see here tonight, you know you’ve got somebody who will get things done and fight for everyone.”
In a college town with hundreds of students in the audience, Nixon played to all ages, young and old, voicing her support for Social Security as well as public education. Every speech of the night ended with a call to action.
“16 days,” Nixon said. “I need everyone to understand something: we do not have time to sit around waiting for someone to save us. We are the heroes we’ve been waiting for.”
Bernie Sanders addresses Tallahassee
Sanders came on stage last to John Lennon’s “Power to the People.” He revisited Nixon’s talking points, and as an elected senator reporting directly from Vermont to Washington, took a more national approach.
“They’re flooding the airwaves all over the country with lying ads in order to defeat candidates like Angie because their nightmare is that, in the House and Senate, we’re gonna have candidates that are gonna call [Republicans] out,” Sanders said. “We’re gonna have a government and an economy that works for all of us, not just Donald Trump and Elon Musk and other billionaires.”
Sanders addressed Nixon’s campaign as a movement and a race that could “change the world.”
“After Angie wins, this is going to be a spark that ignites the entire country,” Sanders said. “It’s about having a new vision for America.”
Students were feeling the Bern, reflecting on the senator’s personal impact on them and their views of “the establishment.”
“I voted for Bernie in a high school mock election,” FSU Student Government Association member Logan Summerhoff said to the FSView outside the event. “He’s just been such a fighter … I do not think I would be the person I am today, both professionally, mature-wise, and politically, without an influence like Bernie in my life.”
“Our voice isn’t supposed to matter because decades ago, our opinions were already determined by the establishment,” TSC student David Hain said to the FSView. “We’re not meant to have this kind of say. And it’s really, really inspiring to see a political candidate that can come up here and change those norms and decades of authority.”
Students share why they went
Two hours before the event started, students and Tallahassee natives alike lined up around the venue, waiting to get in. The FSView spoke with student attendees to find out why they showed up.
FSU international affairs junior Kaia Clemente told the FSView that her voting issues for this election were “too many to count,” but to her, Nixon covered all of them.
“We’re such a swing state,” Clemente said to the FSView. “I feel like fascism is definitely growing in our country, and it’s super important to fight that. People like Bernie Sanders do such good work.”
“I am here to finally see my own opinions voiced on a stage,” FSU mathematics major Kara McDaniel said to the FSView. “I think it’s time that big business gets out of our government, and we start investing more of our taxpayer dollars into social programs that will actually benefit all Americans instead of the top 1%,” McDaniel said.
Early voting in the 2026 midterm elections begins Monday, Oct. 19, in Leon County at 10 polling locations through Sunday, Nov. 1. Nationally, Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Skyler Burrus is the Deputy News Editor for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU and Tallahassee communities. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.
This article originally appeared on FSU News: Bernie Sanders, Angie Nixon rally at The Moon in Tallahassee
Reporting by Skyler Burrus, Deputy News Editor, FSView / FSU News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic nominee Angie Nixon visited Tallahassee at The Moon on Sunday, Oct.18, 16 days ahead of Election Day, rallying a crowd of residents, FAMU, FSU, and TSC students for Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour. Peter Albu/FSView & Florida Flam USA TODAY Network, Reuters 
U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic nominee Angie Nixon visited Tallahassee at The Moon on Sunday, Oct.18, 16 days ahead of Election Day, rallying a crowd of residents, FAMU, FSU, and TSC students for Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour. Peter Albu/FSView & Florida Flam USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 19, 2026 at 11:30 AM.