Once again, progressives notched a key victory in the 2026 midterms, this time in Florida with the upset win of Angie Nixon.
The Florida state representative and a self-described democratic socialist won the Democratic Senate primary by 12 points. She ran against favourite Alexander Vindman, a retired military officer, whose campaign had at least $16 million compared with her approximately $1 million, and who had garnered major party endorsements.
Nixon’s win on Tuesday quickly saw reactions from across the political spectrum, with some moderate Democrats concerned that a left-wing candidate would not fare well in the general election in November, and with progressives celebrating a win that they believe could give them momentum to flip the seat in this largely conservative state.
"The people are rising up against the political establishment that has failed them. The time is now for candidates like Nixon who champion working people and fight relentlessly to defend the rights of all people from Florida to Palestine," said Stefanie Fox, executive director of left-leaning Jewish Voice for Peace Action, in a public statement on election night.
A headline from The Times of Israel reads, "Alex Vindman loses Senate Democratic primary in Florida to anti-Israel DSA candidate." The article notes that "Nixon was endorsed by Ms. Rachel, the anti-Israel YouTube content creator who makes toddler-oriented videos."
For those in the business of election predictions, the response was based on numbers and statewide voting patterns to forecast the outcome of the general election in November.
"That’s the one rating we changed. We said it was likely Republican. Now we’re saying it’s safe Republican," Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia, told The New Arab.
"It wasn’t much of a Democratic target anyway. I don’t think Nixon has the resources to run a statewide campaign," he said of Democrats' chances of flipping the Florida senate seat blue.
In a Florida congressional seat that progressives hoped to win from moderate Democrat Jared Moskowitz, the progressive candidate, Oliver Larkin, was unsuccessful. US President Donald Trump won the south Florida district by nine points in 2024, meaning it would have been difficult for a progressive to win in the general.
In a much deeper blue southern Florida district, longtime congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz beat several other contenders, all of whom are African Americans. The seat had sparked controversy following Republican redistricting that essentially eliminated Black-majority districts.
"The resentment she's created by taking this position will last a long time," James Zogby, veteran pollster and president of the Arab American Institute, told TNA. "She should have run in a different district."
On the Republican side, two candidates holding the once-coveted Trump endorsement lost their bids for Congress in the Florida primary. Corey Mills lost by over 13 percentage points to Ryan Elijah and Catalina Lauf lost to Jim Schwartzel by seven points. In Wyoming, Trump endorsee Megan Degenfelder lost to Eric Barlow.
In another closely watched contest, the special election race between Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez in California was too close to call as of early Wednesday morning, with Wahab holding a slight lead. The race made national headlines following millions of dollars in support to Hernandez by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee through their super PACs and affiliated PACs.