Nixon stuns Vindman in Dem Senate race; Donalds, Jolly face off for governor’s mansion

TALLAHASSEE — Angie Nixon, a progressive firebrand from Jacksonville who was arrested for staging a sit-in at the governor’s office to protest the state’s controversial congressional redistricting maps, defied the odds to win the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

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She ran a come-from-behind, frugal campaign against Alex Vindman, a key witness in President Trump’s first impeachment who had a $16 million war chest, and defeated him 55-45% to go on to face Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in November.

In the governor’s race, frontrunners Byron Donalds, the President Trump-endorsed congressman from Naples, and David Jolly, a former Republican-turned-Democrat who is one of Trump’s biggest critics, both easily won their primaries and will now face off against each each other to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is term-limited from seeking a third term.

Governor

Donalds won a bruising, rambunctious Republican primary with almost 50% of the vote, a commanding 25-point lead over Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who waited in vain for an endorsement from DeSantis, who had handpicked him to replace Jeanette Nunez last August.

James Fishback, a right-wing agitator who captured the imagination of Gen Z voters by throwing about racist and antisemitic comments, came in third with 10% of the vote. Former House Speaker Paul Renner finished fourth with just over 8%.

“The general election starts tonight,” Donalds told an enthusiastic crowd at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, promising to lower insurance costs, make the state more affordable, protect school choice, stand by law enforcement and protect girls’ sports. “Are you with me to keep Florida red?”

Jolly, a former Republican congressman from the Tampa Bay area who quit the party over Trump’s presidency and his policies, held a commanding 61.6% of the vote in the Democratic primary over opponents Dayna Foster and state Rep. Dotie Joseph.

“There’s a new coalition emerging in Florida politics and in our national politics,” Jolly said in a statement. “One rooted in the everyday majority that understands economic growth is good, but the economy needs to grow for everybody; that the private sector should lead, but the government needs to do its part to improve housing, healthcare, and education, invest in clean air, clean water, and safe communities, and that everyone’s rights should be protected and their dignity respected.”

Both of the favored gubernatorial candidates held a huge early gap between themselves and their nearest rivals, outspending them by the millions.

Donalds had amassed a war chest of more than $111 million, much of it tied to billionaires, developers and utility companies that want to build AI data centers in Florida. He spent $53 million leading up to the primary, which still leaves him with close to $60 million heading into the general election.

Collins and Fishback, meanwhile, spent most of their time attacking one another — culminating in a legal challenge over whether Fishback met the residency requirement to be governor, which Fishback won even though he admitted under oath to living, voting and paying taxes in Washington D.C.

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Jolly had no serious competition after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings dropped out after finding out he had cancer. Jolly raised over $10 million, and received the most public funds of any candidate running for office in Florida with $1.6 million.

U.S. SENATE

Moody, appointed by DeSantis in 2025 to replace Marco Rubio after Trump named him as his secretary of state, easily defeated her primary opponents with more than 79% of the vote. Her closest rival got just over 13 %. She also didn’t spend much of the nearly $12 million she raised.

The real surprise was Nixon’s underdog campaign against Vindman, who had raised more than any other candidate in the Senate race with $16 million. Despite his donations from Washington insiders, and his only having moved to Florida from there in 2023, Vindman tried to portray himself as an outsider ready to disrupt the status quo.

But with less than $1 million in the bank, Nixon scoured the state portraying herself as a true Floridian with legislative experience to help deliver on an agenda of affordable housing, combating property insurance and other kitchen table issues compared to Vindman, who was new to both politics and the Sunshine State.

Nixon, who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, told the Orlando Sentinel that “Floridians are being crushed by an affordability crisis driven by corporate greed, political corruption and leaders who are afraid to stand up for the needs of the people.”

Chief Financial Officer

Blaise Ingoglia, a former state senator appointed by DeSantis to replace Jimmy Patronis as CFO when Patronis stepped down to run for Congress, took in 61% of the vote to defeat Frank Collige for his party’s nomination for CFO. Ingoglia has roughly $5 million between his campaign account and politlcal committees to spend in the general election.

Former Democratic state senator Annette Taddeo defeated Earle Ford 66% to 34% for the right to take on Ingoglia. She raised $100,000 to Ford’s $14,000.

Agricultural Commissioner

Incumbent Commissioner Wilton Simpson, former Senate President and multimillionaire egg farmer, garnered 69% of the vote to win the Republican nomination for agricultural commissioner, handily defeating Matt “the Welder” Taylor.

Two relatively unknown Democrats ran against each other in that party’s primary, with Joey Mendoza Atkins defeating Donald A. “Don” Pritchard with 60 % of the vote.

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