State Rep. Angie Nixon shocked Florida’s Democratic establishment — and probably the nation — when she won Florida’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Outspent by a margin of 17 to one, Nixon’s victory proved that money alone cannot guarantee a victory. Running as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she’s a riskier choice for Democrats in this increasingly red state.

Her opponent, Alex Vindman, a U.S. Army combat veteran who was a key witness in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2019, had the perfect resume — at least on paper. Running as a pragmatic, less ideological candidate, his pitch was electability in a potential face-off with U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, a Republican Trump ally. Crucially, he raised $16 million to Nixon’s $975,000.

But Vindman failed to excite voters. Too busy running attack ads against Moody, his campaign apparently underestimated Nixon. What a lesson to Democrats, both in humility and the limits of campaign fundraising.

Nixon was a progressive organizer and has been a member of the Florida House since 2020. The 42-year-old mother of five from Jacksonville spoke about having a difficult childhood, and she channeled basic working-class concerns with authenticity. Her platform called for raising the federal minimum hourly wage from $7.25 to about $26, closing corporate tax loopholes and funding Medicare for All. She was backed by prominent progressives such as U.S. Reps. Maxwell Frost of Central Florida and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Nixon’s biggest moment happened when she was arrested for staging a sit-in at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office to protest the redrawing of congressional maps to benefit Republicans.

Her victory certainly will make the Democratic Party establishment fret.

Nixon’s compelling story aside, she is, without a doubt, a riskier choice for the party in the November general election. On the same day she won the primary, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a well-known election analysis newsletter, moved its rating of Florida’s U.S. Senate seat to the right, changing it from “likely Republican” to “safe Republican.”

If there is a path to victory for Democrats in red Florida, it must go through independent voters — and maybe some disaffected Republicans — and Miami-Dade County. In Florida’s largest county, the term “socialist” is poison. Nixon’s name at the top of the ballot will certainly be fodder for Republicans to accuse moderate Democrats of also being democratic socialists.

With all of that said, it’s hard to tell exactly what message Democratic voters sent their party in the Tuesday primaries. Yes, they nominated Nixon, but they also picked a former Republican, David Jolly, to run for governor against U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who’s endorsed by Trump.

It’s hard to guess why Democrats split their ticket between Nixon and Jolly, who changed some of his political views in his transition from Republican to independent and, finally, to Democrat last year. Jolly didn’t have a strong challenger. Miami state Rep. Dotie Joseph came in a distant third behind Dayna Marie Foster, who’s virtually unknown.

The answer to Nixon’s success may have been in her ability to connect with voters. The Herald Editorial Board endorsed Vindman because of his knowledge, especially on foreign affairs, and his desire to hold Trump accountable. But, for months, progressive Democrats had been warning that Vindman failed to motivate voters.

When she met with the Editorial Board in June, Nixon said she was running because, “I am witnessing my 18-year-old have to fight the same fights that I’ve had to fight, that my mom had to fight and that my grandmother had to fight,” she said referring to reproductive and voting rights.

Nixon ran for the U.S. Senate as a fighter and it paid off. It was enough to overcome her own party’s tilting the fundraising scale in favor of her primary opponent. But the November elections are a different story and a much tougher battle.

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