Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and Florida Representative Angie Nixon waits to speak during a visit to Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on August 17, 2026.
Joe Radle | Getty Images
On Tuesday, media reported that democratic socialist Angie Nixon defeated former national security official Alex Vindman in an upset victory in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary.
Nixon has served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives since 2022, and will face Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in the November general election.
The winner will complete the remaining two years of the term of former Sen. Marco Rubio, who currently serves as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
Vindman, a military veteran, shot to fame during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 when he testified before Congress about Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Florida voters on Tuesday selected candidates to run in November’s election that will decide control of Congress.
In other results, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz was projected to win Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Florida’s 25th Congressional District over Democratic Socialist Party of America-backed challenger Oliver Larkin.
Moskowitz was running in a new district after Florida’s redistricting this year, with the goal of giving Republicans the seat in November’s general election.
In Florida’s other primary, state Rep. Mike Beltran was expected to win the Republican nomination in the newly redrawn 14th Congressional District. He will face Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor. The district is currently seen as leaning Republican.
Sullivan vs. Sullivan of Alaska
Alaska voters were participating in an unusually bipartisan U.S. Senate primary. In addition to Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan faces Republican candidate Dan J. Sullivan, who has a nearly identical name, and remains on the ballot despite efforts to oust him.
Voting ends in most parts of Alaska at 8pm (4pm Japan time).
Democrats hope to take at least four seats from Republicans and gain a majority in the 100-member Senate, and view the Alaska race as one of their best chances.
The race has attracted the attention of President Donald Trump, who on social media urged voters to “be careful. Vote for the real Dan Sullivan today” and called challenger Dan J. Sullivan a “con artist.”
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether former teacher Dan J. Sullivan entered the race to confuse voters and siphon votes from incumbents, according to people familiar with the investigation. He told other news outlets that was not his goal.
new map of florida
By contrast, Florida’s primary will likely increase the chances of Republicans retaining their House majority, as it will be the first election since the state approved a new district map in which Republicans are expected to win up to four seats.
Florida’s new map, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature this spring, could leave the state in 2024 with a House delegation of 24 Republicans and only four Democrats, a state that Republican President Donald Trump won by 13 points.
States typically redraw their congressional maps only at the beginning of every 10 years to reflect census results. But several states have redistricted their districts over the past year in response to President Trump’s calls to strengthen the Republican majority, and some Democratic-led states have redrawn their own maps in response.
This reshuffle has left some incumbent Democratic Party members scrambling to find new footing.
Democratic Congressional candidate Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) campaigns outside the Kings Point Clubhouse polling place on August 18, 2026 in Tamarac, Florida.
Joe Radle | Getty Images
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, first elected to Congress in 2004, is running for a new seat in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, centered on Broward County, after the existing seat was redrawn in favor of Republicans.
She faces criticism for running from a historically black district from activists already worried about losing black representation in Congress following a Supreme Court ruling that undermined a landmark civil rights law.
She is running against several black candidates, including rapper Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, who rose to fame with his 1989 hit “Me So Horny,” and former Congresswoman Sheila Chaffeils-McCormick, who is facing criminal charges for stealing $5 million in disaster relief funds. Charfilas McCormick, who denies wrongdoing, resigned from parliament in April ahead of possible expulsion.
Elsewhere in the state, seven Republicans, including entrepreneur Michael Carbonara and university executive Belinda Kaiser, are running for their party’s nomination in the 22nd District, which was redrawn in their party’s favor. Two Democratic candidates are running for office: Pia Dandiya and Kaysia Early.
In the Tampa Bay area, eight Republican candidates are running for the right to run against Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, whose 14th District was also redrawn to lean Republican.
In the north-central state, Republican state Rep. Cory Mills will try to fend off three challengers, including former TV anchor Ryan Elijah, as he faces a congressional investigation into allegations of campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct. He denies any wrongdoing.
Democrats believe Mills could win the seat if he survives the primary.
Showdown in the north
In Alaska’s Senate race, some polls show Peltola, a moderate Democratic candidate who once held the state’s only House seat, leading Sullivan, an unusual result for a state that often supports Republican candidates.
The top four candidates in the nonpartisan primary will advance to the November election, which could cause further headaches for Sen. Dan S. Sullivan if his challenger, Dan J. Sullivan, survives. Mr. Peltola also stands to benefit from the state’s ranked-choice voting system, which could strengthen his support among independents.
In the House, incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III faces a challenge from Bill Hill, a former school administrator who is listed as an independent but has donated to Democratic candidates in the past. Thirteen other candidates are also on the ballot.
