Nixon’s upset win has invigorated young voters—even in one of her worst performing districts.
By Ed James III
Original Air Date: September 3 2026
Host: It’s campaign season, and two statewide candidates made stops in Sarasota yesterday. One of them was Byron Donalds. The Republican candidate for governor stomped at PGT Windows in Venice. The other one was Angie Nixon. The U.S. Senate candidate actually lost her primary election in Sarasota by landslide. But here she was, just two weeks later, drawing a standing-room-only crowd for a meet and greet. WSLR’s Ed James III was there.
Ed James: Nixon came to Sarasota fresh off a stunning primary upset. On August 18, the Jacksonville state representative defeated establishment-backed, far-better-funded rival Alex Vindman by roughly a dozen points statewide, despite being outraised nearly sixteen to one. It was a result that ran counter to what the polling and the fundraising numbers had predicted for months, and it instantly reshaped the race against Republican incumbent Ashley Moody.
Angie Nixon and supporters | Photo: Tamara Solum
But that statewide momentum didn’t carry here. Sarasota County was actually one of Nixon’s toughest counties anywhere in Florida. According to the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections, Vindman carried the county roughly 63% to 37%, winning nearly two out of every three Democratic primary votes cast locally—even as Nixon was posting a double-digit win statewide. It’s a gap that raises the question of whether Wednesday night’s crowd was a sign that local Democrats are falling in line behind the nominee or simply a preview of the organizing still ahead of her here.
Now Nixon turns to face Moody, who was appointed to the seat, in the November 3 general election—a race where pre-primary polling had Moody ahead by high single digits, though no survey has been released since Nixon’s primary win.
That backdrop was on full display Wednesday evening, as the energy in the room at the Mellow Mushroom on South Tamiami Trail was palpable—buzzing with excitement from the moment the doors opened. The gathering doubled as the Democratic Women’s Club of Sarasota County’s monthly happy hour. Jodany del Rosario, the club’s student representative and a student at Booker High School, says making sure young voters have a seat at the table is the point.
Jodany del Rosario: Today is a monthly DWC happy hour. We do them the first Wednesday of every month. We’re really excited to be able to have Angie here at the event, of course. I’m the student representative of the DWC. There’s two of us: me and Julia. I’m on the board to make sure that students have a voice on issues. We’ve done book bans—we have a banned book club that we host every other month. I’m just there to make sure that people know what students are actually worried about and what they’re not.
EJ: Asked what issue is weighing most on young people right now, Jordany didn’t hesitate.
JDR: Definitely, right now, the mass deportations and immigration customs that’s going on.
EJ: Nixon was introduced to the standing-room-only crowd by Zander Moricz—a Pine View School alumnus, LGBTQ activist and founder of the SEE Alliance, who’s become one of the most visible young voices in Florida progressive politics. Moricz told WSLR why he and so many young people are throwing their support behind Nixon despite her rocky showing here in Sarasota just weeks ago.
Zander Moricz (far right) | Photo: Tamara Solum
Zander Moricz: Angie Nixon is an incredibly easy candidate to support, because Angie Nixon has been supporting students for the last four years, from the legislature to the community. Angie Nixon has always had our back.
EJ: Once Nixon took the floor, she opened by recounting conversations she’s had with voters across the state—including one Sarasota woman whose mother, an immigrant from South America, made the difficult choice to leave the country altogether.
Angie Nixon: There was a woman who was here, and she talked about how her mom was an immigrant and how her mom was feeling unsafe. She was either from Colombia or Venezuela.
Audience member: Columbia.
AN: From Columbia. And her mom did not want to stay in this country anymore, so she decided to leave and go to Central America—to a country where she had no relatives or friends and family—because she felt safer. Because she’s concerned about many of our immigrant brothers and sisters who have seen agencies weaponized to terrorize us in our streets.
It was standing room only at the Mellow Mushroom | Photo: Tamara Solum
EJ: The crowd answered back with chants of “shame”—call-and-response that continued as Nixon turned to Florida’s two Republican U.S. Senators, accusing both of enriching themselves at the public’s expense. She attacked her opponent Ashley Moody over the facilitating role she played as Florida Attorney General in the Hope Florida scheme, which diverted $10 million meant for children to Political Action Committees and the Republican Party of Florida. Nixon tied Moody’s record on children’s health coverage directly to her own years as a single mother relying on Medicaid’s KidCare program.
From there, Nixon laid out her platform—universal childcare, fully funded public schools, higher pay for teachers and universal healthcare.
Nixon addresses the crowd | Photo: Tamara Solum
AN: I told you all I was a single mom for twelve years, so y’all know I fully support universal childcare. I know that for every $1 we put into universal childcare, we actually get $3 back in the economy, because parents get to work.
EJ: Nixon argued that Florida Republicans—from the governor’s mansion to the Attorney General’s office to the White House—want to return the country to what she called “the good old days.” Those days, she told the crowd, were never good enough for workers, for Black and Brown communities, for people with disabilities or for the LGBTQ community. Looking around the packed room, Nixon said the crowd itself told the story of where the party is headed.
AN: Look around. This crowd does not look like the crowd of Ashley Moody. This crowd looks like what our democracy looks like. This crowd is fired up.
EJ: Nixon closed the night with a call to action, urging supporters to sign up to volunteer and knock on doors ahead of Election Day—while naming the stakes she says immigrant, Jewish, LGBTQ and working-class communities are facing under the current administration.
Photo: Tamara Solum
AN: It is our duty to fight for freedom. It is our duty to win. We have to love and protect one another. We have nothing to lose. We have nothing to lose. We have nothing to lose, y’all, but our chains.
EJ: Supporters were originally scheduled to head down South Tamiami Trail to launch a neighborhood canvass at Phillippi Estate Park immediately following the event. But with severe thunderstorms threatening the forecast, organizers pivoted on the fly—redirecting volunteers down the road to phone bank at the Sarasota County Democratic Party Headquarters instead
By the time Nixon wrapped up, the standing-room-only crowd at the Mellow Mushroom was on its feet—many of them heading down South Tamiami Trail for a canvass launch at Phillippi Estate Park. Whether Wednesday’s turnout signals a turnaround for Nixon in Sarasota County remains to be seen, but for one night, at least, the room was hers.
For WSLR News, I’m Ed James III.
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