Is This How a Red State Socialist Wins?

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1:59To me, one of the most interesting people running for office this midterm season is someone who is used to having to work to make herself seen and heard. Angie Nixon is usually wearing hot pink, which is a color that definitely makes her stand out. Even though she says she kind of hates it. She's got a hot pink megaphone she uses to pump her volume up. But these days, Angie does not have to do much to get people's attention.

2:29Angie Nixon: You're running to become a senator in Florida, Democratic nominee. Tall order for a Democrat to win that race. I mean, just a little bit. How are you feeling? I am, truthfully, I am exhausted but excited. I was really re-energized last night. We had a stop at USF and the very mention of Donald Trump and the kids started yelling, lock him up, lock him up. So I think the kids are going to be all right. The youth are going to be all right. They're going to help save this world, this country.

3:11You can find video of this appearance online. The crowd does seem legitimately thrilled. Thrilled and maybe a little shocked that Angie is their nominee. Given her alignment with the Democratic Socialists, Angie was not anticipated to win her August primary. Now, the pressure's on. You've got some real choice Democrats running in the state of Florida. look no further than Angie Nixon, the self-described. It's almost too easy to make fun of her. A few days back, Vice President J.D. Vance came to Florida to take a shot at her. Well, ladies and gentlemen, when Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say, then get the hell out of here.

3:57You don't belong in America, if those are your views. This rhetoric, though, it does not seem to move Angie very much. Many elected officials try to talk over people to make it seem as though they are just this highly intelligent person or that things are so complex and convoluted. And it's like it's not. It doesn't have to be that way. And I want people to see themselves in this process. I want people to know that they belong here, even if they don't know the definition of every word that is being used by certain politicians. because sometimes I'm not going to lie. Some things people say, I'm like, wait, what did that mean?

4:39Are they even using that correctly? And I want everyone to know that they belong in it, that everyone in this country needs to know that they belong in this country and they belong, they should be a part of the process.

4:58Angie Nixon: Well, what you're saying is, what the vice president was saying there was exclusionary. And what you're saying is the opposite of that. But I guess I'm curious, if you were in front of that same crowd, what would you say to them? I would tell them that it's not about Democrat versus Socialist versus, you know, Republican versus Progressive versus DSA WFP member. It is about this group at the top who's ultra wealthy, ultra powerful, who is trying to wipe out the entire middle class. and they are stoking flames, the flames of people's fear. And people are operating out of a scarcity mindset right now.

5:44Mary, there is enough money to go around, but the people at the top are hoarding all of it. Today on the show, Angie Nixon says she's ready for the spotlight. And the Senate, too. I'm Mary Harris. You're listening to What Next. Stick around.

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7:23Angie Nixon: I want to tell your story a little bit for people who may not be familiar with it. Yes. Your mom worked a couple jobs, raised you as a single mother. And I've been struck by this story that I've heard about you and how you got your start in politics, which is you were graduating from college, you were pregnant, and you rolled up, I think, at a city council member's office? Yes. And asked for an internship, and an internship did not exist. It did not exist. They had stopped with the interns years prior due to, they told me, bad experiences. So who were you in that moment? Did you always know you wanted to work in politics?

8:03Angie Nixon: What made you this person who was like, I'm going through a big life change, but I want to be here? Right. So my last semester, I needed an internship. And I was like, what am I going to do? Who do I want to work for. And I was like, okay, you know, let me go to the city council member in my district and let me just try to work for her. I had no idea really who this woman was. And, um, here I was like eight months pregnant, wait, maybe like seven to eight months pregnant and, uh, just rolled up on her and like, they, they gave me the internship. What'd you learn there? Like, what made you say like, oh yeah, I could do this.

8:45Mia Jones was a city councilwoman then. She then became a state rep. And what I learned from her is that even though that was a part-time job, it was actually, when you're an elected official, it is a full-time position. It is like 24-7, 365, nonstop, always on call. And that's where I learned the importance of constituency services because they threw me into constituency services, answering phone calls and helping navigate and connect people to the city services that they needed, the agencies, the departments to help improve people's quality of life. And I learned that people oftentimes call their city council members or their elected officials because it's the last resort, their last hope.

9:32And we can't just be like, oh, here's the number to this department. Like, no, we need to walk them through to help them navigate through their issue and make sure there is some sort of resolution. And what frustrates me about Ashley Moody is that she doesn't do that. Yes, my opponent, Ashley Moody, she doesn't do that. Many people call and reach out to my office because Ashley Moody does not respond to them. And I have I have had to tell some of my my district staff like one of my one of my district staffers like I had to let them go because they were not responsive to people's needs. like that is your job like i we work for the people of the state of florida and if you are not responding in a timely manner because sometimes these people are facing eviction sometimes they are facing life or death situations as it relates to their medicaid or their medicare is is that they are fighting with the whatever um company is pushing their you know their policy, right?

10:50Overseeing their policy. And it's like, I don't have time for that. People don't have time for that. So I need them to do right by our bosses.

10:59Angie Nixon: Yeah, you're a state representative now. And you've made a name for yourself as being a thorn in Ron DeSantis' side, essentially. I said ass, but... And very plain talking about it. And I guess here's something you don't talk about as much, but I am curious about. You've talked about how, yes, you are known for having a pink megaphone and talking a lot about gerrymandered maps. You are known for doing those protests, even though it resulted in you getting put in a basement office where you saw a rat trap. And droppings on my desk. Yeah. So you've talked about that, but you've also talked about the fact that you had to work with Republican colleagues to get your priorities into bills.

11:48Angie Nixon: And I actually think that's much more akin to what you would need to do in the Senate as well, which is like work with people who can be allies, at least behind the scenes. Can you tell me a story about that and what you learned from it? You know what? I have Republican. I don't necessarily want to call them friends, but I'll say like acquaintances in the House. They check on me. They put my amendments in their bills as their own most oftentimes. Right. And some of them are excited that I'm running for this seat. Really? You got to tell me a story there. you know i got folks that call me and were like i'm so happy and congratulations i'm so happy you made it in the general and like i'm looking forward to you like winning like and it's because they know republicans yes a lot of them they are not mega republicans they just have to play the part because mega is so loud like they're the loudest ones it's not as many as people seem to think but when that's all you hear you feel that pressure because they get the public involved and all the things.

12:59But many of these Republicans are like, many of them, they want to be moderates. They really want to see things accomplished, but they have to fall in line. And it's very unfortunate.

13:11Angie Nixon: Okay, can we talk about why you decided to run for Senate? Because I was listening to interviews you've done before, and you basically have said, I was looking at the field. And I was like, I don't like this field. I want someone else to run. And I'm curious about that, Because I think a lot of people, Washington people, people in Democratic leadership, were quite happy with the field. They wanted a guy named Alexander Vindman to win. Alexander Vindman testified against Donald Trump in his impeachment hearing. Why did you look at that candidacy and say, no, someone else has got to get in there?

13:43So, you know, I want to be clear. So there were two people that filed before me, maybe three. And Vindman hadn't filed yet. And I actually reached out to him before I filed to see if he was going to run. And he never got—we talked and he said he was going to call me back, but he never did. But then also, I think I still would have jumped in the field if he had. And that's because, you know, those folks weren't super as involved in statewide communities as I was. I mean, he just recently moved to the state. He had just recently moved to the state, right? and I just know the state. I'm a Florida girl, like through and through.

14:27I know I have this draw, but Florida is the South. At least the most Northern parts of Florida is the South. It's like the further you go up in Florida, the more Southern it is. And so what I've been working in this state for nearly two decades as an adult and as an organizer in community and building relationships and working to address the issues that people cared about. So I knew what people cared about. And it's not just about going after Trump, anti-Trump, anti-Trump, anti-Trump. It is affordability. It is just decency and dignity. People want to be respected here in this state. And too often, elected officials or candidates aren't respecting them.

15:15And I respect people because, again, like, I don't want to have a negative name in these streets. And I want folks to just be OK.

15:27Angie Nixon: In the primary, you made this decision that I don't know what to make of it now. And I want to talk to you about it, which is you decided to try to seek the support of the Democratic Socialists of America. You weren't a member of the party, I think. And you reached out to them. They were like, I don't know how we feel about this. No, that's not how it happened. Okay, you tell me. So I was at a meeting with some of them because a bunch of people have called and requested meetings all over the state. And so I was sitting with them and one of them, one of the organizers organized me into joining their organization.

16:04She asked me to join and I was like, I'll check, I'll check it out. Let me see. And then the whole time she was like, well, you should join us because this is what we fight for and this and this and this. And I was like, just wait a minute or whatever. And and those they were talking and asking questions and why they were doing this. Like I was on the website of DSA. This is before they actually rolled out their new national platform. And the majority of the things like I supported. Right. And so I would say that, like, that's why I joined. I joined right there because I was asked to join and because I was in alignment with the majority of their things.

16:42Now, am I in alignment with everything they do? No. Or support? No. But I'm also not in alignment with everything that the Democratic Party does and definitely not in alignment with everything that the Republican Party does. And I think people who are Republicans would say the same thing about Republicans. And so it is about, again, building a diverse coalition of people who are needed in this moment, honestly, to take out this rise in fascism, this rise in authoritarian and its dictator. It has to be all hands on deck. That man is not going to willingly leave in 2028. I think that is really important to highlight.

17:21And so what we need to do is make sure that we are coming together and mobilizing, organizing and building a grassroots movement across this country to help hold elected officials accountable.

17:37Angie Nixon: But do you worry at all about the DSA branding creating confusion among voters where it's like. You know what, Mary? They were going to, they were already calling me a socialist and a communist and a radical person and an extreme person. They're already doing this. And so - How do you talk to those people, though, who may have heard that and think like, ugh, like I am Cuban, whatever. I have a memory of what this label could mean. I let them know, you know, I bring up how they feel right now under Donald Trump. And I let them know that I fight against what they're feeling, right? What they're feeling under Donald Trump, which is pretty much a lot of what they fleed from.

18:19Um, granted it is not, you know, to that extent, but yet I tell them like, yeah, it's, it's going there. And so I let them know, like, I've also, I've been arrested because I'm a political opponent to the harm and the cruelty that they are pushing in the DeSantis and Trump administration, which has always been rubber-stanned by Ashley Moody. And so that has been cutting through and resonating with people. Look, I don't steal$10 million to defeat citizen-led ballot initiatives. I actually was on, my organization knocked on doors for that ballot initiative, the abortion ballot initiative, over a million doors.

19:01I believe that people should decide what they want for their government. And I'm pushing that. And that's the total opposite of Ashley Moody.

19:14After the break, the GOP says Angie Nixon is shady with money. She disagrees. Before we go to the ads, just a reminder, Slate is still having its pledge drive right now, which means you can get a deal on Slate Plus membership. Just go on over to slate.com slash whatnextplus. That is slate.com slash whatnextplus. Enter the offer code whatnext50 at checkout, and you can join us for half off. If you're already a member, thanks for doing it. If you haven't joined yet, now's the time.

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21:49Angie Nixon: It's really interesting to me to see you parry with your Republican opponent, Ashley Moody, because the fighting back and forth is obviously fierce, but also I've watched as Moody and Republicans have changed tactics. Like I think at first there was this line of attack that you were socialist and like she accused you of wanting to defund the police and you had this very funny clap back on X where you said, why would I want to do that when I want you in jail? And then you followed it up with BFFR, which is shorthand for be fucking for real. But I've seen it shift since then, which is now GOP criticism seems to have focused on you and allegations that you have, there's questions about money and you, whether it's paying back student loans, whether it's paying back taxes, whether it's how you use money in a nonprofit fashion to fund your bookstore, where did it go?

22:42Angie Nixon: These are the things that are being put out there now, which I think is interesting because it shows a change in tactic. But it also does raise questions. And it is also, they are asking questions about you that are a lot like the questions you were asking about Ashley Moody. Do you have a response to the allegations? Oh, absolutely. I mean, I'm paying my taxes and I'm paying my student loans. You said you're on a payment plan. I'm on a payment plan. Right. Like I don't run from my responsibilities. And when it comes to my nonprofit, we have receipts for like all the things that we use for the nonprofit.

23:14And we actually I ended the nonprofit last year. I resigned from it when they shut it down. And this year it administratively dissolved because the person who was over it didn't actually dissolve it officially last year online. And when it comes to like everything we use the money for, we use the money to pay for to pay for tutors, for people who are part of the mentorship program. We used it for we had free music lessons and we paid the teachers for that. We had a bunch of different community events. We also regranted a lot of that money to nonprofits across the state of Florida that were working on abortion access, as well as we're working to provide book bags.

24:04Like I've put a lot of money myself into that nonprofit. And when it comes to my bookstore, y 'all should look at my credit card. My credit card is really, really high. It's like$30 ,000 worth of credit card expenses that I use for my bookstore. And so I can talk and show proof and receipts because I'm not going to jail for nobody. Do you hear me? I have five kids and I'm not with it. And so if folks want to pull stuff out and say whatever, I mean, they try to -

24:39Angie Nixon: Do the voters ever ask you about it? Have they begun like - No, because they know it's bullshit. Like, I don't I don't say everything that I do. Right. Like there are a ton of moms like we use that money. There were parents who were about to get evicted, that type of stuff. Or during a hurricane, we were buying freaking mattresses for people whose mattresses got flooded out, were wet because of floods. And like, that's what we use that money for. It ain't nothing over here. my credit card will show you what we use for the bookstore. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting because I've heard the Florida Democratic ticket this year characterized as the most schizophrenic ticket out there because you are there, but you're alongside David Jolly running for governor as a Democrat.

25:28Angie Nixon: He's a former Republican, former independent. You guys are campaigning with each other, right? Yeah. We campaign with each other. What is that like? Periodically. It's cool. I mean, he brings about one crowd. I bring about another crowd. Are those crowds ever like melding? Yeah, they are. They are. But it's so funny if I pop up at one of his events, his crowd doesn't look like mine. And then vice versa sometimes. But when we come together, it is like we pull different people and that's what we need. Yeah. Yeah. It seems to me like in Florida to win, for you to win. It just requires running up the numbers.

26:10Angie Nixon: Like I was looking at this article in USA Today, where they basically flagged the fact that in the primary where you won, if you look at the raw numbers, half a million more Republicans voted in that primary, which does seem like a steep mountain to climb for you. You know, there are just more people activated, potentially, who are Republicans. What do you say to people who look at that and say, it's just going to be too hard for you? There was a whole bunch of NPAs that didn't have the opportunity to vote in our primaries because we have a closed primary state. People who are not registered with one party or another.

26:52Exactly. And I'm sorry, independence, no party affiliation. And so then there's also the fact that there's some Republicans that are voting for me as well. And so I look forward to shocking the nation come November 3rd and having Ashley Moody and Donald Trump and Rhonda Sances personally have to refer to me as Senator Angie Nixon.

27:15Angie Nixon: What's the first thing you want to do if you win? The first thing I want to do if I win, I really wish we could lock up Ashley Moody and Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. But what I'm going to do as far as legislation, I'm actually going to file legislation to extend the ACA subsidies or part. I believe that Senator Blunt Rochester actually has a bill around this. And so I would sign on to that and really advocate really hard to extend those Affordable Care Act credits, the Obamacare credits, because it knocked off nearly 440 ,000 people about the health care rolls here in the state of Florida. And it caused everybody's health care insurance premiums to go up.

28:03And medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy. And so I want people to have the health care that they need. And then we're going to, I'm really going to push really, really hard for us to work towards Medicare for all because a recent Yale study came out and it showed that we could save a trillion dollars annually and over 114 ,000 lives. And when I've been talking on the campaign trail to people. One woman who had breast cancer was diagnosed with third stage breast cancer and she was getting the treatment that she needed. And then the big BS bill came and now it's gone up to stage four because they stopped providing her with certain things that she needed.

28:46And no one has to deal with that. No one should have to deal with that. And so it's very, it's very just hurtful and cruel that that's how it is here in the state of Florida and this country. And I don't want it to be that way. I think no matter what happens in November, your race is proving something or has proved something, which is that Democratic leadership misunderstood something fundamental about Florida.

29:21Angie Nixon: They placed a really big bet on your opponent. They lost. What do you think that means about who should be making the calls for the Democratic Party moving forward and what they didn't understand? Trust Black women. Let Black women leave. You know, there is going to be a real conversation, a hard conversation that we need to have with how Black people are treated within the Democratic Party. You know, I'm a lifelong Democrat, but we can't just be considered for our labor and not our leadership. We have to be elevated into key positions of power within this. And what I mean, that's the same thing like throughout this country, right?

30:17Angie Nixon: Some people would say like, okay, well, Kamala Harris was the nominee for president. So I'm just saying what some people might say. What would you say? And I would say it's not just about a candidate. It's also about internally as well. And also in terms of like the consultants that are hired and that type of stuff. Right. I'm saying this as someone who is trying to keep black people, black women into the party. Right. But folks are frustrated. Folks are fed up. And this is not, you know, a rebuke on one particular person or one particular org or iteration of the party. This is just collectively.

31:02This is also like we have to reassess how we show up really for everyone, for working families. But I can speak rarely towards the Black community, but also working families in general. We have to be on the ground year round. We have to be fighting for issues year round. We have to go meet people and communities where they are. We can't just wait until election time and show up. Absolutely not.

31:39Angie Nixon: I'm grateful for your time. Thank you. And I am so curious to see what happens in November. Thank you. For sure. Thank you. Angie Nixon is a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. She is also currently running for U.S. Senate. And that's our show. What Next is produced by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharm, and Patrick Ford. Paige Osborne is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Mia Lobel is the executive producer of podcasts here at Slate. Ben Richmond is the senior director of podcast operations. And I'm Mary Harris. Go track me down on Blue Sky.

32:18I'm at Mary Harris. Thanks for listening. Catch you back here next time.

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