Opposing parties and candidates have defined State Representative Angie Nixon as a socialist due to the nature of her progressive policy beliefs.
Nixon, though, has denied being a socialist, but rather a person who wants everyday people to dictate what lawmakers do.
Nixon won a surprise victory in the Florida Primary and will be the Democratic nominee for U.S,. Senate. She is running against incumbent U.S. Senator Ashley Moody, and is in the race to gain voter support as an underdog.
Nixon said in a phone interview that her campaign is focused on the working class by prioritizing goals like universal Medicare and childcare. She explained her personal motivations in running for the Senate.
"I decided to run for office to try and right the ship, because what's happening in D.C. is absolutely ridiculous," Nixon said. "I wanted to have the backs of the people and actually help drive down costs and put money in people's pockets."
Karyn Edison, vice chair of the Democratic Party of Lee County, said she voted for Nixon in the primary and was hopeful she would win.
"Angie Nixon shows up for the people, but she also shows up for groups that are struggling," Edison said. "I was very pleased that Angie made it through."
Even though Nixon has made it this far, she still has to defeat Moody, who currently is the favorite to win in a state with a Republican voter majority. Florida has backed Republican candidates in 12 out of the last 17 presidential elections, according to data from CNN.
Sean Hartman lives in Cape Coral and supports Nixon's opponent, Ashley Moody. He said he believes Nixon is an interesting candidate, but doesn't stand much of a chance against Moody.
"Based on the fact that Angie is so radical, relative to Ashley Moody, then I don't see how Moody doesn't come out of this with 55% to 60% of the vote," Hartman said.
He did note, however, that while Angie Nixon is heavily perceived as radical, her messages to the working class are strong. Despite this, he believes Nixon is not electable in a statewide general election.
"She is a lot better at messaging to the working class than Ashley is, and that is something my Republican Party always needs to work on, but I think at the end of the day her values don't really reflect where I think most of Florida is," Hartman said. "I think she can talk a very good game, and she's gonna be an interesting challenge, but I don't think she has a chance at winning."
After being asked about the readiness of Florida voters to accept her policies, Nixon responded with three words: "They deserve it."
Dr. Sean Ewing, an assistant professor of political science at Florida Gulf Coast University, believes campaign funding is likely to be quite different between Nixon compared to Moody.
"Given that Florida is a very Republican state, you will probably see Ashley Moody with a big fundraising advantage," Ewing said. "The idea is that voters and people who want to give money are less likely to give money to a candidate that they don't think is going to have a chance."
That may be reflected in recent data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Nixon's campaign has raised just under $1 million, compared to Ashley Moody's approximate $11 million. This could reflect Moody's money from so-called SUPER Political Action Committees (PAC's).
Due to this, Dr. Melissa Zoe Fryer, professor of political science at FGCU, explains how Nixon must continue connecting to Florida voters to increase her support.
"She's going to have to hit the ground, hit the pavement, talk to people face to face, meet people, make herself known, because without all of the SUPER PAC donations, she's not going to be running campaign ad, after ad campaign, after campaign ad, as we will likely see Moody doing," Fryer said.
Nixon said she has built her campaign on grassroots organizing. She revealed that it is increasing the efforts to reach voters in all 67 counties, and that her campaign has hired more organizers, in hopes of getting more campaign volunteers.
As the previous Executive Director of Florida for All, a statewide political coalition, Nixon is familiar with organizing. She said she knows that she must connect with voters on a deeper level, to counter the labels given to her by others.
Lee Democratic Party Vice-Chair Edison explained how, after getting to know Nixon through several encounters, people should focus on her as a person.
"She cannot be defined by any party," Edison said. "She should be defined by Angie Nixon, the community organizer, the small business owner, the working-class woman that she is."
Nixon said she is up to the challenge.
"I want voters to know that I'm really trying to look out for their best interests," Nixon said. "I'm gonna fight hard for folks to make sure that they are good."
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