Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) wasted no time attacking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) as a socialist in a speech following her Republican special U.S. senate primary victory last night.
"My opponent will be a self-proclaimed socialist that proudly signed up and joined the Democratic Socialists of America," Moody said. "That will be my opponent."
Rep. Nixon, a socialist Democrat, defeated former national security aide Alexander Vindman by 12 points in a stunning upset to secure the party's special senate primary on Tuesday night. Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) earlier this year.
Sen. Moody, who cruised in her Republican primary, contrasted her viewpoints during her time in Congress. Moody was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2025.
"On one side, you will have a candidate that stood up for the state in the face of government crackdown," Moody said. "Big government, called out Washington, held them to account, has pressed for accountability when they overreached their power and lied to the American people, always stood for independent and American rights."
 Sen. Moody then attacked the DSA for its platform.Â
"You're going to have one side that I'm going to be up against that wants to, and the platform says defund the police, don't fund our military, open up the border, non-citizen voting," Moody said. "I could go on and on. I'm sure the law enforcement men and women that are here with us tonight love the position they have on abolishing prisons and releasing criminals into our communities. We're not making this stuff up."
A firebrand in her own party, Rep. Nixon gained attention after using a hot-pink megaphone on the House floor to protest a vote on a bill redrawing Florida's congressional map in April. Nixon was also arrested after engaging in a sit-in outside of Gov. Ron DeSantis's office in Tallahassee in protest of newly signed map in May.
The Florida Democratic Party celebrated Nixon's primary victory.
"In the state of Florida, who stood strong in the face of big government, you have now a Democratic Party that has put up as their nominee, a self-proclaimed socialist who runs a bookstore called the Resistance Cafe," Moody said.Â
Nixon owns a bookstore called Cafe Resistance Bookstore & Coffee Shop (Cafe Resistance) in Jacksonville.
"I am not making this up. This is not some made-up fiction TV story," Moody said. "This is the election that will take place in this free state of Florida this November. That is who the Democrats are running because that is who they are as a party."
