Angie Nixon Tells POLITICO's Dasha Burns Democrats Have Taken Black Voters for Granted

Florida Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Angie Nixon told POLITICO's Dasha Burns that her party has taken Black voters for granted, in an episode of the podcast The Conversation with Dasha Burns released on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, less than two weeks before Election Day.

The 39-minute episode, titled "Democrats' race reckoning (with Angie Nixon)," was published on Apple Podcasts on the morning of Oct. 23. According to the episode description, Nixon argued that the party needs to have a "long conversation" about the state of Black voters within it, or else it will continue to "hemorrhage" voters.

The description says the conversation also covered why Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America, whether she considers Israel an ally, and whether she would support Chuck Schumer for Senate leader.

Nixon on donors and investment in Florida

A portion of the interview, transcribed by Mediaite, focused on national support for her campaign. Burns asked: "You've said before that Democrats underinvest in the South, where most Black Americans live. Do you think the race has played a role in how much support you've, you've received?"

Nixon said she did not believe party leadership was acting on that basis. She pointed instead to former Vice President Kamala Harris's loss in Florida in the presidential race, and said some donors may doubt a Democrat can win there. "I don't think it's something nefarious or that people trying to, that Democratic donors are racist towards me," she said. "I would say it's that they think that the state is racist and they're just hesitant to donate because of it."

When Burns asked whether Democrats had made a mistake by under-investing, Nixon answered: "Oh, absolutely. Democrats, they made a huge mistake by not investing in this state. And we have seen the devastation of it all across the country."

Nixon said Florida had been "the testing ground" for laws later adopted elsewhere, naming anti-DEI and "stop woke" laws. She also cited progressive policies adopted in Florida, including a $15 minimum wage and automatic rights restoration for people with past felony convictions, and said her campaign needs money to communicate with voters.

POLITICO's main account shared a clip from the interview on X on Oct. 23.

The race

Nixon, a state representative for Florida House District 13 since 2020, is running in the Nov. 3 special election for the seat Marco Rubio left to become U.S. Secretary of State, according to Ballotpedia. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed then-Attorney General Ashley Moody to the seat on Jan. 21, 2025. The winner will serve the remainder of Rubio's term, which ends in January 2029. Neil J. Gillespie is also on the ballot with No Party Affiliation.

Nixon won the Democratic primary on Aug. 18 in an upset over Alex Vindman, CBS News Miami reported. "We were outspent 16-to-1, and we won," she told supporters on primary night. Moody has highlighted Nixon's membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, telling supporters that night that her opponent "will be a self-proclaimed socialist."

Moody has led most public polling. The Florida Press counted 10 public polls between the primary and Oct. 16: Moody led in eight, two were within half a point, and the median margin was Moody +5.1. Ballotpedia notes that major election forecasters rated the race Solid Republican or Likely Republican as of October 2026, and that the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida was Bill Nelson in 2012.

About the show

The Conversation with Dasha Burns is POLITICO's weekly interview podcast. Its show page describes it as a fresh take on the Sunday show format, with Burns sitting down each week with "power players in Washington and beyond." The full Nixon episode is available on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast apps.