It's time for the Democratic Party to put its money where its mouth often claims to be. Black women have been its most consistent voting bloc, if not the heart and soul of the party. The Florida primaryjust produced one asthe party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be an uphill race against the Republican incumbent, Ashley Moody.
Yes, Florida is the home of President Donald J. Trump, who takes his "Florida Man" title seriously. Yes, the state is politically ruby red. Yes, Florida is home to 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, and yes it's been eight years since a Democrat won a statewide race and even longer since one has been re-elected to a statewide post.
Doesn't matter. The Dems had better pony up.
The
August primary produced an upset in state Rep. Angie Nixon's convincing win over fellow Democrat Alex Vindman. On paper, Vindman was a lock. A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was director of European Affairs for the National Security Council, he came to national attention as a witness in the 2019 congressional impeachment inquiry during the Trump–Ukraine scandal. Again, Vindman appeared to be the perfect nominee ― for Florida.
Democratic voters in the primary thought otherwise.
Nixon, 42, ran the better campaign. She crisscrossed the state, and she was all over social media, too. She used her political roots in Jacksonville, first as a community and union organizer and then a state representative, to launch her Senate run, a move most political observers thought to be somewhere between absurd and nonsensical.
But, Nixon had the right message ― making Florida affordable again, curbing corruption and easy billionaire access to taxpayer monies and restoring access to child care and universal healthcare. Her opposition to Gov. Ron DeSantis' redistricting bill with a pink bullhorn and her arrest for "sitting-in" the governor's office didn't hurt either.
Democratic voters say they like fighters. They'll need one in this race.
Nixon's challenge as a progressive and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America ― tailor-made fodder for Republican opposition ads ― is to somehow cobble together a coalition of enough progressive and moderate Democrats, independent voters and disgruntled Republicans to put a scare in a political party that's ruled Florida for three decades. Her opponent, Moody, remains the favorite, although she has yet to show she's a political powerhouse.
Gov. DeSantis appointed Moody last year to the U.S. Senate after former Sen. Marco Rubio resigned to become secretary of state. Despite serving two terms as Florida's attorney general, polls show Moody has low name recognition for an incumbent. Of late, she's been fending off allegations that she got the appointment after approving the transfer of $10 million in taxpayer funds to Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida Foundation that was in part then diverted to a political action committee to help defeat the 2024 ballot initiatives on abortion and marijuana.
Florida's junior senator could find herself in a real contest against an energetic and engaging opponent. It would help if Nixon had the resources that Vindman had. If the Democratic Party ― the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in particular ― wants to show the party's most enthusiastic bloc of supporters that it's serious about backing one of its own, it had better shell out some money to help Nixon run a credible campaign.
At a time when the national mood yearns for engaging candidates who exude compassion and competence, the state of Florida has managed to produce one. A little more money to pay for canvassing, door-knocking, mailers and, of course, television ads, could be the spark that turns an uphill fight into something interesting. Florida could use that.
Nixon raised $975,000 in a successful primary campaign. Vindman raised $16 million in a failed one. According to The New York Times, Vindman was supposed to attend a fundraiser in Nantucket days after the primary to help him wage a general election campaign. Hopefully, those donors didn't cancel the event but invited Nixon instead.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at dclyons@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Nixon's win puts a spotlight on Democratic Party donors | Opinion
