Welcome to Rap Sessions, a new podcast produced by Ed James III and Jackson Rothman, in cooperation with WSLR!
In this episode, Ed and Jack quiz Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon about her candidacy for U.S. Senate. Check out the abbreviated transcript of the episode and their interview with the Jacksonville progressive of bullhorn fame. To listen to the full show, click on the player below.
Ed James III: You’re listening to Rap Sessions, a new podcast from WSLR focusing on Florida politics and culture. Rap Sessions is hosted by Ed James III and Jack Rothman. On today’s show, we’re joined by Florida Representative and U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon. Representative Nixon joined us in the studio at WSLR in Sarasota to discuss her campaign and what sets her apart from her primary opponents.
Jackson Rothman: Angie Nixon is a state representative from Florida’s District 13 – formerly 14 – author, and union organizer from Jacksonville. She is a Democrat running to be Florida’s next United States senator. Nixon is an unabashed progressive. She says her politics focus on affordable housing, strong public schools, fair wages, and quality healthcare.
Angie Nixon has made headlines with her bullhorn protests on the House floor against the Republican supermajority’s partisan redistricting maps. She was also briefly arrested during a sit-in outside of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office in Tallahassee. Representative Nixon joined us at WSLR to discuss her campaign for Senate and what sets her apart from her primary opponent, Democrat Alex Vindman, as well as the incumbent Republican senator, Ashley Moody, who was appointed by Donald Trump to replace Marco Rubio.
What Nixon may lack in funds she says she makes up for with fight, and as she told us, she believes she’s the only Democrat candidate who can win this race.
EJ: Welcome, and thank you so, so much for joining us.
Nixon, Rothman and James at WSLR.
Angie Nixon: Thanks for having me. I’m super excited to be here.
EJ: So we like to keep things light at first before we hit you with the hard questions. Jack and I just finished talking about what we’re listening to right now, what’s on our Apple Music playlist, Spotify playlist? We wanna know what is State Rep Angie Nixon listening to? What is on her playlist right now?
Angie Nixon: I’ve actually been listening to some old school neo soul. I need to mellow out and make sure that my nerves are calm and I’m not super anxious. And then, of course, when I’m with my daughter, I am listening to the Kidz Bop music.
And for some reason, she has this infatuation and love for singing the Negro National Anthem, so we are constantly listening to different iterations of that. Shout out to James Walden Johnson.
EJ: Right. Isn’t he from Jacksonville?
Angie Nixon: Right. Exactly. Starting them very young, at five years old.
EJ: That’s, that’s awesome. That’s what’s up. Um, now when you say neo soul, are you talking about like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Raphael Saadiq?
Angie Nixon: Hey, you just named the three. Yes, and I’m really, like, on repeat right now is Be Here with Raphael Saadiq and D’Angelo. I love that song. It really gets me, like, it really gets me going, so that’s so funny that you said that.
EJ: Okay, cool. Yeah, we’re on the wavelength already. This is great. So this is big. This is a big jump from the Florida State House to the U.S. Senate. Why do you think now is the right time to run for Senate?
Angie Nixon: For sure. So I, I don’t think it’s necessarily a big jump. I think it is the right thing to do because folks are hurting right now. Washington is a mess. Corruption is at an all-time high. There’s no accountability in place for folks like Donald Trump. Ashley Moody is being a rubber stamp and allowing him to get away with everything. There’s a very… There, there’s a lack of transparency, and we’re seeing all of our money being wasted, and meanwhile, people are struggling. People can’t afford to stay in their homes and put food on their table. The cost of gas is ridiculous. And folks are losing their access to their healthcare. And so I’m running because I believe hardworking, everyday people should get to shape what their communities look like and what their economies look like.
I’m running for U.S. Senate because I believe that the government should work for people and not against them, and so that’s why I decided to make this little leap.
EJ: You mentioned affordability quite a bit in there. That seems to be one of the big themes of your campaign. It was also the theme that won Zohran Mamdani election in New York City in his mayoral race, and it seems to be kind of a winning message for progressive Democrats. One of the big things people talk about is costs, you know, the cost of groceries going up, rent, whatever it might be. But one of the things we don’t talk as much about is the wages. We haven’t seen a national increase on the minimum wage since, I think, 1993 it is. I was even kind of shocked we got a minimum wage increase here in the state of Florida, incrementally of course, and I believe you were involved.
Angie Nixon: Yes, I was one of the ones that actually helped organize and get that on the ballot and get voters to push for that. And so yes, you’re exactly right. There has not been a decent increase nationally in regards to the minimum wage. The current minimum wage federally is $7.25, which no one can live off of that.
And the reality is, there are some states that are just at the federal minimum wage. And so right now, I believe we need to be pushing towards $26, $30 an hour. We do need to figure out how to assist small business owners to get there, if we are able, when we are able to pass that.
We’re gonna say when. We’re gonna speak things into existence, right? And so I do like the incremental steps, but it can’t be a dollar a year. It has to be something a little more aggressive than that. And so yes, I am all for increasing the federal minimum wage. We did it here in the state. I’m also supportive of having a stronger Department of Labor, and I actually filed a Department of Labor bill here in the state of Florida multiple times. I would say about six times, each year that I’ve been in office, I believe. And right now, wage theft is one of the biggest issues here in the state of Florida as it relates to workers. And we’re gonna see even more of it right now, as some business owners are basically just trying to look out for their profits, increase their profits, and not pay their workers a living wage.
EJ: And so we need to make sure that we are passing policies to address these issues. And speaking about affordability, let’s look at the financial landscape of your race. Your primary opponent, Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, has a massive national war chest sitting on millions. You’re running a grassroots campaign. In a state as massive and expansive as Florida, how does people power beat money power when it comes to getting your message across 67 counties?
Angie Nixon: You know, it is so shameful the amount of money that is required to run a campaign and win an election right now in this country. It is absolutely shameful, which is one of the reasons that I am such a strong proponent of overturning Citizens United. I think we need to make sure that we get these big corporations out of politics, right? I know that my opponent has stated that he’s not accepting money from corporate PACs, but he is accepting money from PACs that accept money from corporations. I am not doing that. And you know, at the end of the day, my campaign’s average donation is $20.
That means that I have a real people-powered campaign, and I can actually win this campaign with supporters that continually are leaning in, like Amanda, who’s sitting in this room right now, folks who are donating and knocking on doors and making phone calls, right? I have been an organizer here in the state of Florida, as well as a union organizer. I’ve been an organizer in this state for nearly two decades, and so I’ve developed a diverse coalition of people all across the state. And we are out talking to people, knocking on doors, and really just breaking through and bringing people along, and that’s what matters. I’m also the only candidate that is willing to go meet people where they are, even if they don’t have money.
I wanna put that out there. I go meet people where they are, because they deserve to have a voice, and they deserve to be represented as well. And this campaign is about the people. It’s not about money. It’s about getting money out of politics. It’s about making sure that people have money in their pockets. We are uplifting the voices and making sure that we have a real aggressive grassroots strategy and go out and talk to folks, and it’s people powered.
EJ: Speaking about that grassroots strategy, you are a unabashed progressive. In 2016, at the presidential level, there was another progressive that was running for the Democratic nomination by the name of Bernie Sanders, and when Senator Sanders was running, there was lots of talk about kind of a fixed deal already, that folks within the party were kind of rallying around Hillary Clinton, and making it difficult for the primary to truly be contested. There have been allegations about Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, former head of the DNC, walking around with Alex Vindman, as if he’s already the nominee on the Democratic ticket for U.S. Senate in Florida. What do you have to say about that?
Angie Nixon: You know, at the end of the day, my focus is on the hardworking everyday people here in the state of Florida, and I am someone who prides myself of being people over profit, people over politics, and even people over party. It is a shame that there is a fix. The fix is in right now. We have learned that the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee], which is led by Chuck Schumer, including the [Florida Democratic Party] has actually… they are doing joint fundraising efforts with my primary opponent. And look, y’all, I’m gonna be perfectly clear: This quiet status quo, timid leadership is not going to beat Ashley Moody. I don’t care how much establishment money or Chuck Schumer money that’s behind it. It’s not going to beat Ashley Moody.
Right now, the thing we need to be concerned about is the fact that this race, this election, this campaign is about what Floridians are up against and who’s been standing alongside them through it all. I am the only candidate in this primary who can say that I have stood by them when others have not. When hardworking folks have been attacked, when women’s rights were under attack, I was there pushing back, filing legislation, right? When the members of the LGBTQ community were under attack, trans folks were under attack, I was standing on the front lines literally protesting with members of the trans community. When our public education was – it is still under attack, right? – I’ve been there, and I’ve been doing it for nearly two decades. And we’ll level the playing field and say that the past three years as my primary opponent has been here in, in Florida, I’m the only one that showed up, when others didn’t, without applause, without protection, without media attention, without fanfare. I did it because it’s the right thing to do, and I’m going to continue to do it. I also have the experience. I have taken the hard votes, sometimes against my party when they were not doing the right things for the people here in the State of Florida.
You don’t have to question what I’m gonna do when I get to Washington, DC. Oftentimes, we send people to Washington, DC, and they falter. They kinda toe the line because that money starts making them question things, and like, “Oh, I can’t be this… I have to be quiet. I can’t be this vocal.” I have spoken out against big money while I’ve been in the state legislature, and I’ve always put people first. So folks don’t have to question me and who I am. I am the better candidate for this race.
EJ: Now, you represent Jacksonville, a city that proved Democrats can win when they mobilize the base, as we saw with Donna Deegan’s mayoral victory. What did you learn on the ground in Duval County that the state party continues to ignore when they design their statewide strategy?
Angie Nixon: I think it’s important to note that we go out and talk to people in Duval County, and at least I know I do, and some of us progressive groups and, and hardworking grassroots organizations. The party is not registering voters, unfortunately, and we have to get back to that. The party has a lot of folks feel – what I’m hearing in these Florida streets from voters and non-voters, is that the Democratic Party has become what they think the party of the elites. And we have to push back against that.
The Democratic Party that I know, that I fell in love with, the reason that I joined the Democratic Party, is because we are the party of the working families. And so as a working person myself, I know what it’s like to struggle. I know what it’s like as a small business owner to have to struggle to make payroll and maybe not pay a bill at your house so that you can make sure that your staff is fed, and they have money to eat.
And so we need to get back to fighting for everyday hardworking folks. That’s not what people see right now. People are saying they want fighters in Washington, D.C. They want fighters in Tallahassee. We’re too quiet right now. These people are boldly attacking us right now, and this moment requires bold leadership, and I’m the only one in this race who has been a bold leader that is willing to speak out all the time when people are being attacked.
EJ: Let’s talk about bold leadership, and let’s talk about setting an example that other people might be too scared to do, too tied up with corporate interests to do. You have got a lot of publicity for standing up on the floor of the House, and saying when you think something is wrong or when you think an injustice is being carried out by the state, by lawmakers. Famously, you brought the megaphone out, to voice your concerns about where the legislature was heading. And then, of course, you have been arrested outside of Ron DeSantis’ office for sitting in, against these redistricting maps. We were talking last week with Dr. Lawrence Miller, who’s a political science professor, about these redistricting maps, how many, many people don’t consider them to be constitutional and just. But from the Democratic side, over and over again, we’ve kind of just seen finger-wagging, and that’s it. We have not seen a ton of action. For the most part, it’s just like, “Hey, you can’t do that,” and then, just letting them continue to do whatever they want. You have stood up. How would you continue to stand up in the U.S. Senate the way you’ve stood up in the Florida House? What would you continue to do?
Angie Nixon: Yeah. So thank you for that, and you are exactly right. I am in total agreement in regards to all of this. It’s like finger-wagging. Y’all folks have stated that I lack decorum, that I lack professionalism, but what good is decorum when democracy is being destroyed? What good is decorum when they are literally destroying our institutions?
They unconstitutionally and illegally drew these maps. Donald Trump has taken on the purse strings in our government, and that is designed to be held by Congress, by the U.S. Senate. Like, he is offering up no-bid contracts, all these things, and we have to get loud. First Lady Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” We gotta get loud. We have to let people know about what’s happening. I was actually at a workshop a year and some change ago in Washington, D.C. with a ton of organizers and democracy defenders and lawyers who were gathered to talk about what happens when your democracy is at risk of falling. And there was a political scientist and historian who illustrated to us, like he told us and explained to us that throughout history, across this globe, the only way that people have been able to stop democracies from falling is by mass protests, mass strikes, mass boycotts, by getting loud.
Our democracy is falling, and our country is coming to almost an end as we know it. I have to get loud. I have to work to wake people up. We have to organize our electees. It shouldn’t be this hard for Democrats to wanna speak up. Like, these folks are doing any and everything to stay in power, and it’s illegal oftentimes.
And so why would people wanna come out for folks who ain’t fighting for them? And so I want people to know that I’m fighting for them, and we can change the trajectory of our country if we elect people that come from people, that have a track record of being there and standing up when they face attacks.
Right now, unfortunately, it’s too many folks that have been sitting on the sidelines. And I mean lawmakers who’ve been sitting on the sidelines just allowing Trump to do whatever the heck he wants. That’s why I believe that it’s imperative for me to win this primary if we want to change the way in which Florida is going and this country.
No one is gonna be able to beat Ashley Moody if we don’t turn out voters and energize a base of people, and I’m the only candidate in this primary that can do that.
EJ: Your act of civil disobedience was very reminiscent of the Dream Defenders, when they sat in the Florida Capitol, to try to get Trayvon’s law passed. And late Congressman John Lewis called that making good trouble. What does that quote mean to you, making good trouble?
Angie Nixon: I think the first part of the quote, that illustrates what this means is it’s necessary trouble. We need to get in necessary trouble. That’s okay. It is necessary. Like, if we don’t, that makes it seem as though there’s a consensus to keep headed in the direction that we’re headed, which is higher insurance costs, more people out on the streets, more people stressed out, more people taking their lives. That is not the type of country we deserve. I have five kids, one, two, three, four, five, and then my husband added a dog. Don’t ask me why, but it’s fine. I love Luna. Hey, Luna. Um, but I wait, I lie awake at night wondering often about the type of world, the type of future that I’m leaving my kids.
And I think everyone needs to think about that. And if you think about that, you have no choice but to get involved. You have no choice but to get loud and push back. Everybody’s hurting, even Republicans, even MAGA. But that’s why it’s up to us as Democrats to be the big tent and call people in and not call them out.
Definitely call out Trump and Ashley Moody and these elected officials, but we don’t need to call out our neighbors. We need to call them in, let them know that we care about them, and they’ve been lied to too. And so folks would be willing to join our big tent if we don’t attack them like Trump does, right?
A lot of folks realize they voted the wrong way, but they don’t have a political home, and they don’t feel like moving over to the Democratic Party because so many of us have attacked them. And so we can’t do that. We have to make sure we’re calling people in so that we can actually build a new vision for our country.
EJ: Yeah. The Democrats too often, I think, are not offering anything. They say, “Okay, we’re gonna stop the other party from doing X, Y, Z,” but then there’s no offer of, “And we’re gonna do this.” You, in your campaign, have promised to do things … to get things done, to change the way that not only we interact with Republicans, but the way we pass legislation. What are some of the top things that you would love to push? You’ve introduced a ton of bills into the Florida House. What would you want to introduce in the Senate?
Angie Nixon: Yeah. So first of all, I think it’s important for people to know that medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy. People are going bankrupt simply because they’re trying to stay alive. And so we need to make sure that we go back to the table to extend the ACA subsidies and demand that these health insurance companies open up open enrollment again, reopen it, and drive down those healthcare premium costs.
And then we need to push towards reforming the ACA and identifying how we’re going to pay for Medicare for All. I think we pay for Medicare for All by taxing the recently produced trillionaire, Elon Musk, and the billionaires that are making beaucoup money and are headed towards becoming trillionaires as well. Look, Medicare for All makes economic sense for our country. We’re spending way more money on people who don’t have access to healthcare, who use the emergency room as their primary care. And so we need to push for Medicare for All.
We also need to push for free childcare. The reason we need to push for free childcare is because that keeps business going when people have good quality childcare. Parents can go back to work, and so that puts more money into the economy, and that also keeps the parents a lot less stressed because we know how it is when you have to keep your kids at home yourself. And so it also allows our children to get a head start, an early start, and they start kindergarten and first grade on time.
Right now we are seeing, and I’m hearing from educators who are saying that a lot of these kids are starting behind and starting late. Don’t even know how to read or their alph- or, you know, spell their names or the alphabet when they’re going into kindergarten and first grade, and that’s because a lot of the parents are stressed out and maybe working and also keeping the kids at home because they can’t afford to send them to an early childhood facility.
And so I believe public college should be free, and I also believe that we need to be making sure there are free vocational programs for people to get a trade. Why would we not want to produce quality workers? Quality workers. And so that just helps keep the economy going.
The problem is these greedy billionaires and corrupt corporations. That’s the issue. The policy that’s being pushed right now by the Ashley Moodys, the Donald Trumps of the world, the Rick Scotts, is only profiting, like it’s only helping those billionaires and corporations. Did you know that 88 companies last year made over $105 billion and they paid absolutely zero in federal taxes?
By the way, I’m getting on a payment plan with the IRS because I have to pay $14,000. I didn’t make $105 billion. They don’t have to pay federal taxes, but I have to pay federal taxes? That is crazy to me. And so we have to close those corporate tax loopholes, and we have to make sure that these folks pay their fair share.
EJ: One of the things you brought up was childcare and education. And one of the big things we’re facing in Florida is the attempt to continuously reroute money, public money, away from public schools to private schools through voucher programs. This is a big sticking point for a lot of the Republicans. They call it school choice. Byron Donalds, who’s running for governor to replace Ron DeSantis, him and his family are tied up heavily with the school voucher program. What can be done on a national level to secure funding for public schools?
Angie Nixon: So number one, we need to make sure that we flip the House and the Senate so that we can vote to impeach that WWE lady that is now running the Department of Education, and we need to make sure that we tie up federal dollars. First of all, I don’t know if folks know, but for the State of Florida, a huge chunk, a huge percentage of our state budget comes from federal dollars. And so I would work to tie up that funding until they repeal some of these voucher policies here in the State of Florida, after we win over the House and the Senate on the federal level.
And so making it so that we are investing more money in Title I schools, making it so that we are able to actually pay our educators a living wage. I believe educators at a minimum need to get between $60,000 to $75,000 a year. We need to respect them. That is, that is the first way in which we can start making these changes.
But we just gotta hold that money up until they change those policies, and then they’ll get in shape fast. You stop the money, that changes everything. You stop the money, that changes everything. And I mean, they do it to us. That’s what Ron DeSantis does to local governments.
Why can’t we do that in the fed? And also Donald Trump was threatening to withhold funding last year, if folks didn’t enact certain policies that he wanted. And so we need to do the same thing for the good of our children. I have five kids. One of them just graduated last year, and the other four are gonna be in public school soon. All three of them are in public school now, and then the last one is going soon. And so that’s what we have to do to make sure that we’re building a quality education for them.
EJ: As the grandson of a former public school teacher who taught in Sarasota County schools for 42 years, and as a former public school teacher at a Title I school myself, I can say, ‘Let the church say amen on that one’. Now, Ashley Moody, who is currently holding the Senate seat by appointment, has a massive campaign war chest and the full backing of the state’s conservative machinery. If you win this primary, how do you plan to dismantle her record as attorney general, particularly on issues like reproductive rights, public safety, and home rule?
Angie Nixon: We’re just going to definitely highlight the fact that she didn’t do anything. She could have went after insurance companies while she was the attorney general. We only saw these insurance companies continually jack up our rates. We saw them continually deny our claims. And so we’re gonna highlight her do-nothing record, and the fact that she’s nowhere to be found.
The only time we hear from Ashley Moody is when she’s running for office. That is the only time. She doesn’t respond to emails. She doesn’t respond to phone calls. She does not have in-person town hall meetings, unless you’re a Republican. And so she represents not only Republicans, she represents everyone here in the state, and she’s not doing it.
We are excited because we are having conversations with people who are not just Democrats, a lot of people don’t even know who she is, and so we’re gonna exploit that. And we are going to really get our message out there about how I am the only candidate in the race who would actually deliver, fight for them, and deliver legislation that helps put money back in their pockets, keep some money in their pockets, that actually stops all of the hateful, harmful rhetoric that is leading to people being targeted.
I am the only person who’s going to actually just really uplift Floridians. Like, really work to get us back to being a state where we have Southern hospitality, right? Now everybody’s so mad and angry at each other, and it’s because these politicians at the top, they are dividing us because it’s profitable for the people that keep putting money in their campaigns. Because it keeps our eyes off of what they are actually doing, which is tax breaks for the wealthy and for the corporations, which is making more money off no-bid contracts, which is making money off of mass detention, not deportation, ’cause they ain’t really deporting people. They detaining people because it makes them money. Yeah, for-profit prisons. Holding people is the profit. And so we have to uplift that and let people know that I’m the total opposite, and I wanna make sure that that money is theirs, in their pockets, not these billionaires.
EJ: Gotcha. So your primary is on August 18th. What can you say about how, what you would bring to the Senate that Alex Vindman cannot bring? He’s the establishment candidate. What can you say to the everyday centrist Democrat who kind of votes blue no matter who, votes the party line? Why should they be looking to the progressive candidate versus the establishment Vindman?
Angie Nixon: They should be looking towards me because I’m gonna turn out more folks to actually vote to make sure that we do in fact win. We’re not gonna win if I’m not at the top of the ticket. We’re not. We’re not going to win this race unless I am at the top of the ticket in the primary as the Democratic nominee.
I can also tell them that I don’t leave anyone behind. I bring everyone’s voices with me. That is how I have always legislated. That is how I have always shown up. I am the only person who does not have to have folks buy their access. No one has to buy access to me. I’m available because I work for the people.
And so I think it’s important to really highlight that, because if folks are already doing that during a campaign, that means they’re gonna do the same thing after they’re elected, and I’ve never done that. And that’s how Tallahassee moves right now. In order to get access to those elected leaders there in power, you often have to buy it. You don’t have to buy it with me.
EJ: Speaking about how Tallahassee moves, and Jack, correct me if I’m wrong, Gov. Ron DeSantis retweeted something, going back a while ago, that some would call a racist dog whistle. But Jack and I were talking about it beforehand, saying it’s not even a dog whistle, it’s just a whistle. It’s a regular whistle. It’s a regular whistle. Obviously, we talked before about you using the bullhorn to raise awareness about issues. And apparently, your behavior was called ‘ghetto’. And then he retweeted on X, and he retweeted that quote about being ghetto, and he even added F-A-F-O, which of course I can’t say what that actually means because of FCC regulations. But it’s certainly not anything nice or inviting. And talking about the divisive culture that we have in the political sphere, in the political space right now, what do you have to say to that, especially coming from the person who is the leader of this state, the person who represents all 67 counties, the person who’s supposed to represent people irrespective of race, irrespective of sexual identity, socioeconomic class? And I guess I probably already know the answer, but how did that make you feel when you saw that?
Angie Nixon: So how did it make me feel? It was just confirmation, it was reaffirming everything that we already knew. And I’ve already stated it multiple times on multiple occasions that Ron DeSantis is a racist, and he illustrated this in the primary against Andrew Gillum, telling folks not to monkey this up. And he couldn’t even call the racist that killed three Black people in my district at the Dollar General a racist, after the guy had a manifesto and said that he wanted to kill the N word. Ron DeSantis only called the guy “Oh, he was crazy.” Crazy? No, he was a racist that was emboldened by Ron DeSantis’ hateful rhetoric, his bigoted rhetoric. And that’s what we have to stop. That’s what we have to call out and let folks know that’s not the type of leadership Floridians deserve.
Ron DeSantis has failed to address the insurance crisis here in our state. We have had to constantly organize, to make sure that he accepts federal funding so that kids can eat over the summer. Ron DeSantis has given no-bid contracts on expensive political stunts like Everglades Detention Center, where he used over half a billion of our taxpayer dollars, which should’ve been going towards ensuring we had quality infrastructure during times of a natural disaster.
Ron DeSantis only cares about Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis is trying to look for the next best thing, and we don’t need any more Ron DeSantises. We need to get rid of the Ron DeSantis-type people. And so I was annoyed, but we also need to be mindful of what’s in the race for governor now, on the Republican side.
Byron Donalds has a commercial where he’s calling me a radical, and that is not the type of rhetoric we need to be pushing out. I just call people out on their policies, or if they are racist, I’m gonna call them out for their racism, the harm that they instill. It’s just very frustrating that, more people aren’t being loud and pushing back. That’s why it seems like MAGA has a consensus, when they don’t. It’s just that they’re the loudest people. They are the smallest group, but they’re just the loudest, and so everybody is fearful because they’re loud. So we have to get loud too and push back.
JR: Just to add on to the DeSantis tweet – the word ghetto is used in the first sentence of the tweet, so there’s not really a plausible deniability to say, “Oh, I didn’t see it,” or, “I misinterpreted it.” Having somebody with that status saying things like that publicly, racially motivated, is very concerning. And then on top of that, with what you had mentioned about MAGA not really having a consensus but being loud, they did not, Donald Trump did not, win by a landslide. As much as they like to kind of rewrite history and say, “This was a mandate from American voters,” it was a very small margin of victory.
Angie Nixon: The biggest group of voters were non-voters. And so that goes to my point earlier. We need someone at the top of the ticket that is going to motivate people who normally sit down on the sidelines. Look, in regards to the polls, like me and Alex Vindman are – I usually don’t say my opponent’s name – he only recently started pulling away, but that’s ’cause he has all this money.
Can you imagine if I had the same money? I had no competition. So that illustrates that I can in fact win, and I can in fact unseat Ashley Moody. That illustrates that people aren’t really happy with the other option. So I am unlike any other U.S. Senate candidate that has run in the State of Florida. Clearly everybody wants something different, so everyone should go to angienixon.com, learn more about me, make a donation to my campaign, sign up to be a volunteer, and y’all, let’s change this thing.
I’m excited.The primary is August 18. The special election is November 3. And folks need to make sure that they are registered to vote – make sure you’re registered to vote – as a Democrat by July 20. Because there is a… Ed, what’s the number on the Republican voter registration advantage?
EJ: It’s about a million, which is very interesting because as Representative Nixon did bring up, the Florida Democratic Party is not focusing on voter registration. So when you talk about those non-voters, when you look at when Andrew Gillum ran for governor and the slim margin that he lost by, one of the things that he did well was he created excitement for non-voters, or people who don’t regularly vote in midterm elections.
And frankly, he helped do a great job of raising the vote totals for communities of color. And so with kind of this whole centrist kind of movement that the FDP is touting, along with not doing voter registration, I think anybody who’s worked in organizing understands that you win when you talk to voters, you win when you talk to people, when you give them a reason to cast their ballot for you.
And what we’re seeing right now in the State of Florida and all across the nation, especially with the gerrymandering, with the redistricting, with the packing and cracking, we’re seeing an attempt at politicians to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their politicians.
Angie Nixon: Now you’re taking my line, Ed.
EJ: I read a little bit every now and then.
Angie Nixon: We are definitely seeing that, and it’s only gonna get worse. If we don’t get loud, if we don’t push back, they are going to rig the system to the point of where we have absolutely no way to win.
And I think it’s important to highlight that they’re not gonna stop on the congressional level. In Jacksonville, one of the city council members was like, “Oh, that new Supreme Court ruling, now we can redistrict here on city council. Like we need to look at these maps again.” And then I heard that in Tennessee they’re gonna start doing it on the state house level, and I know they gonna follow suit here in the State of Florida.
And so that’s gonna be bad. That’s why we need to send people who gonna motivate folks to get out. That’s why y’all need to donate to your girl’s campaign, so that I can help mobilize these people and break through, get my message to break through.
I’ve been flipping voters, after I go and talk to folks and folks realize that there’s someone else in the race. Or they haven’t heard from me, and it’s because they like my message, and then they see that I have a track record, a proven track record. Again, I think that’s so, so, so important.
If I’m able to get Republicans right now who are actually changing their party to vote for me, who are actually volunteering on our campaigns, that is happening right now. And so I just need folks to make sure that they join the campaign so that we can win. If you want to win. It’s not even about if I’m gon’ win, it’s about if you wanna win.
If y’all want to win in this state, if y’all wanna get rid of Ashley Moody, you will make sure that you donate to my campaign, you volunteer on my campaign, and you vote for me August 18th.
JR: Give us your pitch to the voters here in the State of Florida: Why are you are the best person to represent us in the United States Senate?
Angie Nixon: Yeah. So first of all, thank you all for having me. You all are amazing.
EJ: We try. We try. Ebony and I.
Angie Nixon: Ooh. Is that what you say? I got you. I got you. I love it. I love it. But no, I am the best candidate for this race because I am someone who is consistent, I am someone who is ethical, I am someone who you can trust, I am someone who’s had an open door policy.
Again, this campaign is about what hardworking Floridians have been up against and who has been there beside them every step of the way. If you are ready to build a new vision for your country, one where every family has stability, every worker has dignity, and every young person has the opportunity to reach the true American dream, and you actually get more money in your pocket and keep money in your pocket, then I’m the candidate for you, because I’ve been working to do that in the State of Florida.
I’ve been fighting to do that as a community organizer and a union organizer for nearly two decades, and I’m gonna do the same exact thing when I get to Washington, D.C. Grassroots, pro-labor, people power.
JR: She says she’s the only person who can defeat Ashley Moody on the Democratic side. Angie Nixon, thank you so much for coming to the show.
Angie Nixon: Thanks for having me. Bye, y’all.
EJ: Rap Sessions is produced by Ed James III and Jack Rothman. It is edited by Jack Rothman. Our theme song is by Jonas Blakewood. Our interlude theme is by CFL Turning Pages. Rap Sessions is recorded at WSLR in Sarasota, Florida. Please show your support by subscribing, leaving a five-star review, and telling your friends about the show.
Our full archive is available at wslr.org. Special thank you to the Democratic Women’s Club of Sarasota County.