Ashley Moody defeats Angie Nixon to keep Florida U.S. Senate seat

Republican Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon in Florida's U.S. Senate race Tuesday, with the Associated Press calling the contest at 8:36 p.m. Moody secured 50.8% of the vote to Nixon's 48.1%, preserving the GOP's hold on the seat. Moody, 51, a former Florida attorney general and Hillsborough County judge, was appointed to the Senate last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis after Marco Rubio became secretary of state. She raised roughly $20.6 million to Nixon's $8.5 million and benefited from Florida's Republican voter registration advantage of over 1.5 million active voters. Nixon, 42, a Jacksonville native and former union organizer first elected to the state Legislature in 2020, joined the Democratic Socialists of America this year, a move Moody criticized as radical. Despite her loss, Nixon's primary victory over a moderate opponent raises questions about progressive politics' future in Florida's Democratic Party.