Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon's surprise win over Alexander Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary is the latest in a string of democratic socialists toppling heavily favored candidates in 2026.
The two-term lawmaker from Jacksonville raised about $1.2 million, compared with the $16 million Vindman collected from Democrats nationwide, who were captivated by the retired Army lieutenant colonel's critical testimony during President Donald Trump's first impeachment in 2019.
Nixon recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, and her platform includes Medicare for all, universal childcare and raising the federal minimum wage to $25.
"They tried to intimidate us. They told us to step aside, but we knew better," Nixon told supporters during
her victory speech. "And, we the hard-working, everyday people of Florida sent a shockwave to the Washington, DC, establishment."
Whether it's an ongoing trend for democratic socialists, Nixon's 12-percentage-point victory Aug. 18 has been among the biggest upsets this primary season and is yet another example of a progressive insurgent toppling a Democratic traditionalist.
"She is winning on the strength of speaking to working-class people who have been feeling left out of the political system and unrepresented by establishment politicians for so long," Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, told CNN on Aug. 18. "So we were excited to see that."
Nixon joins a list of other democratic socialists who are trying to make political inroads, including victorious congressional candidates Donavan McKinney in Michigan; Melat Kiros in Colorado; state Rep. Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania; and state Rep. Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York.
"This was a David-versus-Goliath victory, and she overcame that war chest with retail politics and all 67 counties with her message," said Tara Newsom, a political science professor at St. Petersburg College in Florida, who thought Nixon would lose. "That goes to show grassroots mobilization still has some punch in politics.
"Nixon's win should make us all ask what does being a democratic socialist mean in America?" Newsom said. "Is this progressive talk relabeled?"
Democratic socialists who unseated the establishment
Besides Nixon, other democratic socialists scored significant victories this primary season. Not all democratic socialists, meaning believers in the political philosophy, are members of the organization Democratic Socialists of America. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib is one of two DSA members in Congress, along with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The nation's highest-ranking self-described democratic socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is not a member of the DSA.
However, the group has its own slew of wins this primary season.
In New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado, DSA members also won their primaries, putting them one step closer to potential wins toward the House of Representatives. In New York City, Avila Chevalier beat Rep. Adriano Espaillat in a district that includes parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, and Valdez beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in a Brooklyn-Queens district represented by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who backed Reynoso.
In Michigan, McKinney defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar in a Detroit-area primary in August, while Kiros ousted Rep. Diana DeGette from a Denver-based seat and Rabb won a primary for an open House seat in Philadelphia. Both are DSA members as is Janeese Lewis George the Democratic nominee mayor of Washington D.C. after winning the primary in June.
All of these are heavily Democratic areas, so the nominees are expected to win the general election − unlike Nixon, who is running in a state President Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024.
As a result, Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of the nonpartisan Sabato's Crystal Ball newsletter at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, has now moved the Senate race in Florida from "Likely Republican" to "Safe Republican," favoring incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody due to Nixon’s win.
The democratic socialists who didn't win
Not all democratic socialists have won this season. Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong was leading the Democratic governor's race in several polls, but narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a moderate. Hong's past social media comments over canceling Thanksgiving may have played a role in her downfall.
In Florida, on the same evening that Nixon won, Democratic voters handed two losses to the socialist movement: Elijah Manley lost to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and activist and union organizer Oliver Larkin, to Rep. Jared Moskowitz. Both incumbents from the party's establishment won comfortably. Larkin is a DSA member and Manley is not, but he describes himself as a democratic socialist.
"Elections give us winners and losers," Manley said on his campaign website in response to the outcome. "History asks something different: whether we give up when things get difficult, whether we surrender our convictions because the road got longer than we expected, whether we let disappointment turn us cynical, or whether we keep organizing and keep fighting. What will you do in this moment?"
Not all progressive Dems identify as socialists
Not all members of the Democratic Party's left-leaning faction are socialists, despite conservative criticism painting them as "communists" and "socialists."
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, was the left-leaning primary opponent to moderate Rep. Haley Stevens. Yet, he is not a member of the DSA and calls himself a capitalist. El-Sayed's declaration comes despite his support from prominent democratic socialists such as Sanders. Trump characterized the matchup between El-Sayed and Stevens as a "communist versus a socialist."
"I know everybody is not going to agree with me on everything," El-Sayed told supporters after his razor-thin primary win Aug. 5. "But I do know that they agree with me on the need to beat (Republican nominee) Mike Rogers and the need to hold Donald Trump accountable, and the need to provide people health care and the need to address the affordability crisis.”
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander ousted incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman from a Manhattan-Brooklyn district with a challenge from the left and the backing of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who belongs to the DSA, but is not a democratic socialist.
Similarly, Illinois Senate candidate and current Lt. Gov.Juliana Stratton scored a win for the Democratic Party's progressive wing, but she, too, does not identify as a democratic socialist. Stratton, who is likely to become the sixth Black woman senator in U.S. history, occupied the left lane of her state's primary with an affordability-focused message.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How democratic socialists fared in 2026 until Angie Nixon's win
