Things are apparently off to a rough start for Democrat Florida Senate candidate Angie Nixon who reportedly clashed with her state party chair during a heated call on Friday.
The far-left state representative shocked the political world when she clobbered establishment hero Alexander Vindman in Tuesday’s primary, beating the former national security official who was the Democrats’ star witness in their first failed impeachment of President Donald J. Trump in 2019.
While Nixon’s focus on a radical agenda may have powered the unexpected upset of her well-funded primary foe, running on socialism in a solidly red state is a different animal entirely, and Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried tried to set her straight in the call that went off the rails, at one point degenerating into a shouting match, sources told Axios.
(Axios) “Stop gaslighting me!”: Florida Democrats’ US Senate nominee and party chair have heated call over socialism
Florida’s new Democratic Senate nominee, Angie Nixon, and the state party’s chair had a heated conversation Friday which included a yelling match about the impact… pic.twitter.com/do2BRVkL44
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) August 21, 2026
“Stop gaslighting me!” Nixon reportedly yelled at one point, underscoring the conflict between insurgent candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the party establishment, which is in a state of panic over wins by a cadre of DSA-backed Dems in primaries this summer.
“You never gave a care about me from the beginning, and now you’re telling me how to run my campaign?” Nixon told Fried, according to one source quoted by the outlet.
As could be expected, both sides offered differing versions of what went down on the call. “According to two people who spoke with Nixon, both she and Fried yelled at each other over the course of the call. Another person who spoke to Fried said the chair did not yell but was yelled at,” Axios reported.
“Nikki wants her to back away from DSA, from socialism,” an unnamed person who spoke with Nixon told the outlet. “She’s listening to other people saying that they’re afraid, they’re scared — the Jewish members and the Hispanic caucus. But to Angie, Nikki doesn’t want Angie to be who Angie is. Angie has already done the backing-away.”
An official for the Florida Democratic Party denied that the chairwoman yelled during the call with Nixon, stating that the party had made multiple attempts to contact the candidate’s team to coordinate the campaign, but the calls weren’t returned, according to Axios.
“The DSA label could create an opening for misinformation and allow Angie’s opponents to define her in ways that don’t reflect her actual record or positions, rather than letting voters hear directly from Angie about what she believes and what she’s running on,” the source said
Nixon staked her claim to fame earlier this year when she disrupted a state legislature vote on redistricting that was backed by outgoing, term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Remember this crazy lady? She just won the Democrat primary for US Senate in Florida.
Angie Nixon is a member of DSA. pic.twitter.com/iZR0wfgpK2
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 19, 2026
The report of the tense call comes at a bad time for Democrats who are already facing a monumental task with having to run an unapologetic, full-blown socialist against Trump-endorsed incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody who couldn’t resist taking a jab at her opponent.
Everything is going great for the @AngieNixon campaign 😬
100% socialism. ALL. THE. WAY. https://t.co/mTJPEAduZ7 pic.twitter.com/jUhmPjt5sb
— Ashley Moody (@AshleyMoodyFL) August 21, 2026
After she easily won her own primary, Moody wasted no time in unloading on Nixon, whom she accused of wanting to “destroy this country and everything that it is built on.”
“We are staring down crazy and the socialists today,” the Republican senator said in her victory speech.
Predictably, Nixon’s team is already playing the race card in what a person quoted by Axios who spoke with the candidate characterized as “a clash of ideology — but it’s also a clash of personalities.”
“Nikki needs to be careful,” the person said. “She can’t afford to be seen by black voters disrespecting a black woman.”
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.