Florida State Representative Angie Nixon, who joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) days before she won an upset victory to be the Democratic nominee to challenge Sen. Ashley Moody (R., Fla.), is closing out the election by distancing herself from the far-left movement.
But Nixon’s campaign recently held a fundraiser in New York City, and some of the hosts are long time members of the DSA; the Washington Reporter obtained a copy of the invitation, and found that one cohost of Nixon’s fundraiser, City Councilman Chi Ossé, briefly challenged Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.); during that campaign, he leaned heavily on his DSA membership, but abandoned it when the DSA refused to formally back him.
While Nixon remains a clear underdog in her race against Moody, one of the DSA cohosts of her fundraiser is certain to head to Congress next year. Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, another New York DSA leader, won an open Democratic primary with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s backing. Valdez recently posted about her desire to bring Mexico’s “fight” to the halls of Congress in the United States.
Several other DSA memers, state Senator Julia Salazar, Assemblywoman Diana Moreno, and Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, are also cohosts of Nixon’s fundraiser.
Nixon’s attempts to moderate in the final days of Florida’s Senate race are likely to be complicated by her reliance on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) in her successful primary against establishment favorite Alexander Vindman.
