Florida Democrats call for unity after Angie Nixon win shows party cracks
The Florida Democratic Party has issued a letter emphasizing unity as thay head into the upcoming election, highlighting their ticket as a “dynamic” lineup capable of challenging Republican leadership in Florida. The party strongly supports angie Nixon, who is backed by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and also gubernatorial candidate David Jolly and other Democrats, emphasizing their shared goals of lowering costs, improving public education, expanding healthcare access, and defending democracy.
Though, Nixon’s victory has sparked internal conflict within the party due to her ties with the DSA, leading to a contentious phone call between Nixon and FDP Chair Nikkie Fried, with concerns raised over her socialist associations. Nixon has sought to distance herself from the socialist label, clarifying her engagement with the DSA was primarily grassroots-oriented and rejecting socialist policy positions such as prison abolition or admiration for Fidel Castro, which could be unpopular among Florida voters with Cuban heritage.
The party’s call for unity comes amid a broader context of internal divisions and recent victories by far-left candidates across the country, fueling debates over the party’s ideological direction.
The Florida Democratic Party released a letter calling for unity within the party heading into the general election, as Democratic Socialists of America-backed Angie Nixon’s Senate primary win puts her at the top of the ticket.
In their letter, titled “United in Hope for Florida,” the FDP frames the party’s lineup as a “dynamic ticket” that gives the Left an opportunity to topple Republican leadership in the Sunshine State.
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“Florida this is our moment,” the letter said. “We enter the general election with a dynamic ticket, a renewed sense of possibility, and an opportunity to build the broad coalition it will take to win.”
The party affirmed its backing for Nixon and gubernatorial Democratic nominee David Jolly, as well as other downballot Democrats.
“Our nominees are laying out an affirmative vision for getting there, from Angie Nixon’s call for universal healthcare to David Jolly’s call for a renaissance in public education,” the party said. “Across our ticket Democrats are putting forward ideas aimed at lowering costs, strengthening public school, expanding access to healthcare, and protecting fundamental freedoms and democracy.”
The Democratic Party has been experiencing an internal civil war after several far-left candidates notched victories in primary contests across the country. Nixon’s victory put the divide on full display in Florida and led to an intraparty fight over the Jacksonville state legislator having worked with the DSA.
According to reporting by Axios, Nixon and the FDP Chair Nikkie Fried had a heated phone call on Friday, during which the party chair expressed concern about the candidate’s ties to the DSA. Nixon took Fried’s concerns as an attempt to manage her campaign. Fried reportedly expected Nixon to fall to centrist Democrat Alex Vindman.
Nixon was also upset that Fried was reaching out after the primary, allegedly claiming the FDP “never gave a care” when she launched her campaign.
ANGIE NIXON TRIES TO SHRINK OFF ‘SOCIALIST’ LABEL DESPITE DSA BACKING
The outlet reported that Nixon was taken aback by Fried’s suggestion to back away from the DSA because she was already in the process of doing so, arguing she had only engaged with the organization to get help with grassroots organizing.
Nixon has made an effort to distance herself from the DSA, expressing the same sentiment to NBC that she worked with the organization to gain traction on the campaign trail. She later told Axios that she does not believe in DSA agenda items such as abolishing prisons or celebrating former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, an unpopular take among South Florida voters, as many have ancestors or themselves fled communist Cuba.
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