‘Resistance Cafe’ Was Futile: Florida Voters Reject Democratic Socialist Angie Nixon
Angie Nixon, owner of Jacksonville’s Cafe Resistance and a dues-paying member of the Democratic socialists of America, was defeated Tuesday in her longshot U.S. Senate bid, losing to incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. The Associated Press reported Moody leading by about 2.5 percentage points when the race was called.
Nixon first drew wide attention in 2023 for a lone dissenting vote on Israel in the Florida legislature after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. she stunned many in August by beating establishment Democrat Alex Vindman in a major primary upset during the 2026 cycle. Her campaign attracted endorsements from progressive and high-profile Democrats – including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,Sen. Bernie Sanders and former President barack Obama – as well as support from the Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action, but that backing did not overcome Florida’s shifting electorate.
Her recent formal affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America, which she joined in June just before her primary victory, became a persistent target for Republican attack ads. Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried had warned that Nixon’s socialist ties would be politically damaging. Nixon tried to downplay those connections, saying she joined the DSA mainly to access its grassroots network and later denying support for some of its more extreme policy positions; she also made a remark to CNN indicating she opposed the DSA’s calls to abolish prisons and defund police because she wanted Moody “locked up,” a comment that drew attention.
Nixon’s campaign loss coincides with mounting questions about the finances and oversight of her Cafe Resistance and its associated nonprofit activities. The Moxie Group, a charity tied to the cafe, reported raising about $270,000 in 2024 but has not filed required IRS disclosures explaining how the money was used, even though the reporting deadline passed nearly a year ago.
State regulators and outside groups have opened inquiries. The Florida Department of Agriculture began investigating whether the charity solicited donations in 2026 while its fundraising license was expired, and a conservative watchdog filed complaints with multiple federal and state agencies alleging possible wire fraud related to the group’s solicitations.
Nixon has saeid she resigned from the nonprofit almost a year ago and that the organization quietly dissolved, asserting those moves limit her responsibility for any legal issues – actions that state authorities say were not reported until October. The cafe itself has been criticized for displaying a tribute to black power militants, including individuals convicted of killing police officers.
Nixon’s loss comes as legal trouble brews: $270,000 remains missing from her Cafe Resistance ‘charity’ bookstore
Angie Nixon, the anti-Israel dues-paying Democratic Socialist and owner of Jacksonville’s black power-themed Cafe Resistance bookstore, lost her longshot Senate bid to incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody (R., Fla.) on Tuesday.
Moody led Nixon by 2.5 points when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening. Nixon, who made a name for herself in 2023 when she took a lonely stand against Israel in the Florida legislature one month after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, shocked the political world in August when she defeated establishment Democrat Alex Vindman in one of the most stunning primary upsets of the 2026 elections. Nixon racked up endorsements from anti-Israel groups including Emgage Action as well as from prominent Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vt.), and former president Barack Obama, but they weren’t enough to push her over the finish line with Florida’s increasingly conservative electorate.
Nixon’s decision to join the Democratic Socialists of America in June, about two months before her shock primary upset victory, haunted her throughout her general election campaign as predicted by Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried, who warned Nixon in a heated post-primary conversation that her socialist ties would open her up to GOP attacks.
Nixon’s attempts to distance herself from the DSA’s far-left agenda landed flat amid the avalanche of GOP ads attacking her for her socialist ties. Nixon said in August she isn’t really a socialist and only joined the organization to tap into its grassroots network. Later, in October, Nixon told CNN she didn’t support the DSA’s efforts to abolish prisons and defund the police because she wanted to see Moody “locked up and punished in jail.”
Nixon’s defeat Tuesday comes as legal trouble brews at her Cafe Resistance bookstore in Jacksonville, which features a shrine to black power militants, including several convicted of murdering police officers. Nixon’s former charity, the Moxie Group, raised $270,000 in 2024 ostensibly to support her café-bookstore, but the charity never reported to the IRS what it did with the funds despite the reporting deadline expiring nearly a year ago.
The Florida Department of Agriculture, which regulates charities in the state, launched an investigation in September into whether Nixon’s charity raised charitable funds throughout 2026 with an expired solicitation license. And in October, a conservative watchdog group filed a complaint with six federal and state agencies alleging Nixon violated federal wire fraud laws through her charity’s fundraising solicitations.
Amid those developments, Nixon claimed she can’t be held accountable for any laws her charity may have violated because she secretly resigned from the nonprofit nearly a year ago, just before the charity secretly disbanded itself, moves that weren’t reported to state authorities until October.
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