Ashley Moody has won Florida's special Senate election, retaining the seat she was appointed to and defeating Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, the Guardian reports. Moody will serve the remainder of Marco Rubio's Senate term until the 2028 election. It was the first election win for the Republican, who was appointed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025, when Rubio became US secretary of state.
Polling in the run-up to Tuesday gave Moody a clear but narrow advantage, which Nixon sought to close with the backing of prominent progressive Democrats. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied with Nixon last month in central Florida, an immigrant-heavy section of the state where, the Guardian reports, the Trump administration's detention and deportation policies have proved unpopular.
The contest was also a gauge of whether Florida remained reliably Republican, after the party built a 1.5 million-voter advantage in registrations, or whether Democrats, shut out in statewide races for a decade, had made progress towards restoring Florida's lost status as a key battleground.
Moody focused during campaign appearances on denouncing Nixon as a "socialist", and portrayed her alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America as evidence she was intent on defunding the police and the US military, abolishing prisons and supporting unchecked immigration and noncitizen voting. She lauded Trump's immigration policies but, mindful of the president's strong disapproval ratings over the Iran war and high gas prices, largely refrained from praising him personally, according to the Guardian.
Nixon campaigned vigorously on affordability and corruption in politics, frequently referring to Moody's role as Florida's attorney general in the so-called Hope Florida scandal, in which DeSantis's administration diverted a $10m Medicaid payout to political committees. "I don't want to abolish prisons, because I want Ashley Moody in one of them," she said in an interview that provided one of her campaign's most viral moments.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The result keeps a US Senate seat in Republican hands and gives Moody the advantage of incumbency heading into the 2028 race for the full term.
- The contest serves as an indicator of whether Florida has locked in Republican dominance or remains somewhere within Democrats' reach after a decade of statewide losses.
- Nixon's campaign, amplified by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, tests how far a democratic socialist can run in a state where Republicans hold a large registration edge.
Background
Florida was long one of the most closely contested states in US presidential politics, but has trended firmly Republican over the past decade, culminating in a large advantage in registered voters and a sweep of statewide offices. Senate vacancies in the US are filled by gubernatorial appointment, and the appointee must then defend the seat at the next election. Moody's appointment followed Rubio's departure for the State Department, and she now holds the seat through 2028.
Key Perspectives
Ashley Moody: denounced Nixon as a "socialist" and presented her alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America as evidence she intended to defund the police and the military, abolish prisons and support unchecked immigration and noncitizen voting.
Angie Nixon: campaigned on affordability and corruption in politics, repeatedly raising the Hope Florida scandal and Moody's role as attorney general, and rejected the charge that she wants to abolish prisons.
What to Watch
- The final margin against pre-election polling, as a measure of how close the race actually was.
- Whether the Hope Florida controversy continues to be raised against Moody ahead of the 2028 Senate race.
- Whether national progressive figures keep campaigning in Florida, and what that signals for Democratic strategy in the state.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedAshley Moody won Florida’s special Senate election, defeating Angie Nixon and retaining the seat.World news | The Guardian: “Ashley Moody fended off a challenge from Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, to win Florida’s special election and retain her seat in the US Senate .”
- SupportedMoody was appointed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025, when Marco Rubio became US secretary of state.World news | The Guardian: “It was the first election win for the Republican, who was appointed by Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025, when Marco Rubio became US secretary of state.”
- SupportedMoody will serve the remainder of Rubio’s Senate term until the 2028 election.World news | The Guardian: “Moody will serve the remainder of his term until the 2028 election.”
- SupportedThe election was Moody’s first election win.World news | The Guardian: “It was the first election win for the Republican”
- SupportedPolling before Tuesday gave Moody a clear but narrow advantage.World news | The Guardian: “Polling in the run-up to Tuesday gave Moody a clear but narrow advantage”
- SupportedBernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied with Nixon in central Florida last month.World news | The Guardian: “Both Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied last month with Nixon in central Florida”
- SupportedThe Trump administration’s detention and deportation policies had proved unpopular in that immigrant-heavy part of Florida.World news | The Guardian: “an immigrant-heavy section of the state where the Trump administration’s harsh detention and deportation policies have proved unpopular.”
- SupportedRepublicans had a 1.5 million-voter advantage in Florida voter registrations.World news | The Guardian: “after the party built a 1.5 million-voter advantage in registrations”
- SupportedMoody portrayed Nixon’s alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America as evidence she intended to defund the police and military, abolish prisons, and support unchecked immigration and noncitizen voting.World news | The Guardian: “Moody, during campaign appearances, focused on denouncing Nixon as a “socialist”, and portrayed her alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America as evidence she was intent on defunding the police and the US military, abolishing prisons and supporting unchecked immigration and noncitizen voting.”
- SupportedMoody praised Trump’s immigration policies but largely refrained from praising him personally, mindful of his disapproval ratings over the Iran war and high gas prices.World news | The Guardian: “Moody lauded Trump’s immigration policies but, mindful of the president’s strong disapproval ratings over the Iran war and high gas prices, largely refrained from praising him personally.”
- SupportedDeSantis’s administration diverted a $10 million Medicaid payout to political committees in the Hope Florida scandal.World news | The Guardian: “in which DeSantis’s administration diverted a $10m Medicaid payout to political committees.”
- SupportedNixon said, “I don't want to abolish prisons, because I want Ashley Moody in one of them,” in an interview.World news | The Guardian: ““I don’t want to abolish prisons, because I want Ashley Moody in one of them,” she said in an interview”