Florida’s Democratic Senate primary pits progressive against Trump impeachment witness

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CN) — In a scene playing out across the country, Florida’s primary for U.S Senate features a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump and two Democrats from different wings of the party vying for a chance to upset the status quo in Washington.On Aug. 18, Florida voters will choose their parties’ nominees to finish the last two years of the seat vacated by Marco Rubio, a three-term senator, after he became secretary of state.Senator Ashley Moody, appointed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis last year, is expected to coast through the primary against her three Republican challengers: Chris Gleason, a technology consultant, Dr. Neelam Taneja Perry, a physician, and Reverend Ernest Rivera.“Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you who else is running,” said Tho Bishop, chair of the Bay County Republican Party. “The only candidate that has visited the Panhandle, or at least has visited Bay County, has been Ashley Moody. She’s had all the time in Florida and a very prestigious career.”Moody — a former federal prosecutor, county judge, and two-term Florida attorney general — is the presumptive nominee, far surpassing the other challengers in polls, fundraising and name recognitionFor Democratic voters, the choice is less clearcut.State Representative Angie Nixon, representing the large swath of Jacksonville and surrounding Duval County, has been a vocal opponent of the recent congressional redistricting of Florida, leading a sit-in at the governor’s office where she was arrested.Nixon has the support of unions and several grassroots organizations. She has also aligned with part of the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America. That organization has helped primary contenders in other states looking to dislodge candidates more closely aligned with the party’s establishment.In Florida, that establishment candidate is another dissenter — retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, who leapt onto the national stage during Trump’s impeachment in 2019.Vindman, who served on the National Security Council as an expert on Ukraine during Trump’s first term, testified he heard the president pressuring the Ukrainian head of state to investigate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.A July poll by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab showed Moody commanding 50% whether her opponent was Nixon, who polled at 42%, or Vindman, at 40%.“These races are notably closer than we’ve seen in recent election cycles, somewhat unsurprising given that the party that controls the presidency usually struggles in midterm elections,” said UNF faculty director Sean Freeder. “Despite very different ideological approaches, the two Democratic Senate candidates do about as well as one another, suggesting the party’s internal debate over whether to move left or stay centrist may not much affect the behavior of voters, or at least that they aren’t paying attention yet.”Yet the fundraising between the two Democrats is stark.Vindman has raised more than $14 million, according to Federal Election Commission data ending in June, with Nixon pulling in $625,000. As of the last filings, Vindman has spent about half of those contributions, and Nixon is down to $118,000.Moody has raised $10 million with $8.4 million cash in hand.The election is an uphill battle for Democrats, who have not won a Senate seat in the state in 14 years, and no statewide office since Nikki Fried, now the Florida Democratic Party chair, became the commissioner of agriculture in 2019.“Florida is definitely a red state now,” said Aubrey Jewett, assistant director of University of Central Florida’s school of politics, security and international affairs. “You know, we used to be purple. Now we’re red. But we’re not Wyoming, right? We’re red, but not that red.”“It’s possible, but it would be an upset,” Jewett posited about a Democratic win in November. “All those underlying factors of Republican gains in Florida versus the long-term historical trend of the president’s party losing seats. And also you have an unpopular president.”And yet.“There’s still 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats,” she said.Just two weeks shy of the primary, nearly 239,000 registered Republicans have already voted by mail or early ballot compared to 266,000 Democrats, according to the Florida Division of Elections. Another 105,000 voters affiliated with third parties or no party have also cast ballots.Courthouse News reached out to several county offices of the Democratic Party by phone and email but received no response. One volunteer from the Democratic headquarters in rural Highlands County did answer.“This is a primary that everybody needs to come out for,” said the volunteer, who only gave her first name, Maureen. “We’ll just now see after the primary where we go.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads