Angie Nixon calls on Florida Democrats to unite amid post-election disappointment

MIAMI — Former Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon called on Florida’s Democrats to let go of blame and move forward in unity as the party deals with the disappointment of failing to land a statewide win in Florida during the national blue wave election that flipped Texas, Mississippi and other GOP strongholds.

The Details

“We’re stronger together, y’all. Folks could say there’s a whole lot of blame to go around, but it doesn’t matter, right? It almost doesn’t count,” Nixon told a virtual call of more than 500 Florida Democrats on Thursday. “It’s really important for us to come together. We need to address our issues and we need to heal, right? But we need to move forward because our babies depend on us.”

Her comments came during a disjointed statewide, post-election video call intended to celebrate the notable wins the party did pull off, including sending the most Democrats to Tallahassee in three decades and breaking the Republican supermajority in the Florida Legislature.

But before Nixon hopped online, the tone from party leadership couldn’t have been further from that of the rank and file Democrats participating in chat section of the virtual call.

As party Chair Nikki Fried told the gathered Democrats that “tonight isn’t just about celebrating election results, it’s about celebrating the people who made all of those results happen,” the chat filled with messages from Democratic volunteers, loyalists and candidates saying that it was “time for a new chair,” “this feels like gaslighting” and “MAGA was lucky that our leaders are so ineffective.”

Democratic Party staff spent the hourlong call laying out the significant organizing efforts the party put in, including knocking on more than 1.2 million doors and making more than 5 million calls to voters.

That field outreach was still much less than the 2.2 million doors Republican Byron Donalds’ campaign was able to knock through paid field outreach funded by his $174 million war chest. National Democratic fundraising arms contributed little to Florida’s statewide races, while pouring tens of millions of dollars into flipping Texas blue this cycle.

Despite being widely outspent, Florida’s Democratic candidates came within three points of winning the Senate race and within two points of the governor’s race.

Party members frustrated on Thursday’s post-election call wanted answers about why the party still fell short of statewide wins, rather than a victory lap for effort. One disgruntled attendee wrote in the chat that the call itself exemplified the party’s problems: “This is why FL Dems can’t get it right. The party members are asking questions of the leadership and are being ignored.”

A common refrain from the chat participants: Angie Nixon is the new leadership the party needs.

Since Election Day, Nixon has launched a political committee focused on managing the effects of the property tax cuts from Amendment 3, and teased a 2028 rematch with Ashley Moody for the U.S. Senate seat.

Meanwhile, Fried has said she has no plans of stepping down from leadership.

Her term as chair doesn’t end until 2028.

Democrats have been publicly pointing blame in all directions about the losses in Florida. Some point to congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries for not investing enough in Florida, and letting winnable seats stay red. Some criticize Fried’s leadership. Nixon’s Democratic primary opponent Alex Vindman, a prolific fundraiser who didn’t donate any funds to Nixon after his primary loss, wrote on social media after the election that he wished he’d outspent Nixon even more in the primary.

But the mood of the post-election call, filled with Democrats feeling left out of the national blue wave, turned around almost immediately when Nixon came on camera from a conference hotel in Denver with her message of unity. The group chat filled with exclamation points and hearts.

“I am thankful for all my supporters, but I want to remind everyone that we are Democrats,” Nixon said. “Let’s not act like the other side and let’s come together, let’s work together to build a better Florida and a better country.”

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