Days after a visit to Donald Trump's home county, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida, Angie Nixon, delivered a sharp warning to the president.
“Donald Trumphas already destroyed the country,”
Nixon told The Palm Beach Post on Oct. 2. “I look forward to the House impeaching him … and locking him up for all of the crimes that he's committed.”
Nixon, who represents a Jacksonville district in the Florida House of Representatives, held a meeting with voters in Delray Beach on Sept. 28. There, she spoke about the cost of living, health care and other issues that propelled her to victory in the Democratic primary in August.
“People are literally going bankrupt just trying to stay alive,” she said in speaking with The Post later that week, adding that she plans to vote to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which can help lower the cost of health insurance.
By contrast, her opponent on the ballot, Republican U.S Sen. Ashley Moody, opposed extending the subsidies and instead backed Trump's plan to put federal health-care money into savings accounts for eligible Americans.
Angie Nixon, unabashed democratic socialist, fires back at Trump, Vance
Nixon, howver, has recently found herself politically jousting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance more than with Moody.
Vance targeted Nixon directly during an Oct. 1 campaign rally in Lakeland.
“When Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say, ‘Then get the hell out of here. You don't belong in America,’ ” Vance said.
Nixon responded on X: “The most ordinary man imaginable came to my home state to tell me to 'get out of America' while they enjoyed the comfort of buildings my ancestors built.”
Likewise, Republicans across the country — chiefly led by Trump — have attacked democratic socialism as an extreme, radical political movement.
Speaking at the United Nations on Sept. 22, Trump alleged that Cuba's regime had “cultivated ties to subversive and radical groups” in the United States, including “the Democratic Socialists of America.”
“Communism will never be coming to America,” Trump added.
The Trump administration also began running a TV ad − right at the time Nixon was in Palm Beach County − that featured Trump urging Americans to "defeat communism," while touting his economic record and personal resilience. The ad has come under fire because taxpayer money was used to pay for it.
Nixon, in her interview with The Post, fired back, saying she described herself as a democratic socialist because the movement is “against fascism and a rise in authoritarianism.”
Angie Nixon lost Palm Beach County in August U.S. Senate primary
How, and if, Nixon's campaign will appeal to Palm Beaches County voters is far from certain.
The August primary results were not encouraging — Nixon lost the county to challenger Alexander Vindman by a significant margin, 55.4% to 44.5%, according to results released by the Palm Beach County elections website.
In November, the electorate in the 561 area code will post a redder hue as the gap between GOP and Democratic voters has shrunk to next to zero.
Palm Beach County was formerly a blue bastion where Democrats in statewide races ran up large margins of victory needed to offset vote deficits in conservative Florida counties, many of them rural.
In 2020, Palm Beach County Democrats outnumbered Republicans in registered voters by nearly 140,000. But as of Oct. 5, the lead is slightly under 8,000, according to the Florida Division of Elections — a drop of roughly 94% in under six years.
Carl Cascio, chairman of the county Republican Party, pointed out the county's shift to the GOP paid off in the last midterm election. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the three GOP cabinet candidates won Palm Beach County, while U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio almost won the county, too.
He credits Trump for the realignment.
“We had a large freighter that was moving in one direction, and then President Trump came on board, had to … turn it around,” Cascio said of the leveling of voter rolls. “That takes time, especially when you have socialists and Marxists fighting you in court, fighting you in Congress … ”
Cascio said he is confident Republicans can overtake Democrats in county voter registrations in time for Nov. 3.
“We're getting very close,” he said.
Democrats recognize the stakes.
“Broward and Palm Beach are two of the only remaining places where I think we have an advantage,” said Brian Biggane, a member of the Palm Beach County Democrats and a Palm Beach Post sports writer for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2015. “I think that’s why you’re seeing a lot of candidates coming down here.”
Both Nixon and Moody will also have to fight over independents. About 232,000 of the county’s roughly 882,000 active voters — or 26% — are registered with no party affiliation.
“We’re counting on them,” Biggane said.
Cascio is too. “They shift the balance,” he said.
Biggane acknowledged the term "democratic socialist" could hurt Nixon with Florida voters.
“We're aware that's going to be a negative in Florida. There's just no way around it,” he said. “It's going to be a little bit of an uphill struggle.”
He also pointed to the county's mature demographic, which may view socialism skeptically.
“I think that will deter a certain amount (of voters), but if they hear (Nixon's) message all the way through, I think they'll be happy with her,” Biggane said.
Nixon is undaunted. When asked how she plans to win Palm Beach County, Nixon said “the same way I'm planning on winning all of the other counties — by having conversations, going out and meeting people where they are."
And, in the Palm Beaches, by letting it be known she would hold the president and his policies accountable, too, from tariffs to the deficits to taxation policies.
Plus, the conflict in Iran.
“It’s a thoughtless war and it’s only allowing Donald Trump’s son-in-law and his family and friends who are defense contractors to get richer, (and) it’s driving up the cost of everything,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Angie Nixon takes on Trump, Vance in reddening Palm Beach County
