Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, the liberal icon from Vermont, announced Thursday he was endorsing Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon in her race against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in November.
"I am proud to endorse Angie Nixon for the United States Senate," said Sanders in a statement released by the Nixon Senate campaign. "Taking on Ashley Moody and her billionaire buddies will not be easy. But we will win this fight because when working people stand together, there is nothing that can stop us."
Sanders endorsement places the U.S. Senate race — if it isn't already — on the national stage in the 2026 election campaign cycle.
Nixon walloped her Democratic primary opponent, Alex Vindman, a moderate former national security professional who played a central role in President Donald Trump's first impeachment.
She won in a lopsided 12-point victory, 56-44%, despite being vastly outraised by Vindman and not getting the support of the Democratic establishment in Florida or nationally.
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Said Sanders: "Representative Angie Nixon did something [Tuesday night] virtually unprecedented in the modern history of this country. Facing a candidate funded by the Democratic establishment, and outspent more than 16 to 1, Angie won her race in a landslide."
"Angie is proof that organized people can take on the wealthy and powerful — and win," Sanders said.
Nixon said she was honored with Sanders' support.
"Senator Bernie Sanders has been a champion for working people his entire career, and I'm proud to have stood alongside him in 2016 and to carry that fight forward today," said Nixon in a statement.
"I believe in the same fundamental principle that has guided Bernie for decades: government should work for working people, not billionaires and corporations," she said, repeating her campaign pledge of Medicare for All, affordable childcare and housing, and "an economy where every person can live with dignity."
Sanders said Nixon's "decades of experience as an organizer enabled her to build a powerful grassroots campaign — a rainbow coalition of labor and community groups."
Sanders said Nixon outperformed Vindman with Black voters, voters under 35, voters without a college degree, and rural voters — "demographics the Democratic Party failed to galvanize in 2024."
"She won in every one of Florida's major cities, including Miami-Dade, where Republicans have steadily gained ground and which flipped red for the first time in decades in 2024," Sanders said.
"Angie's campaign is proof that Florida voters are looking for candidates who will fight for them and who will take on the greed of the billionaire class," Sanders said. "This is the future of the Democratic Party."
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