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It is tough for Democrats to win in Florida, in statewide contests, at least. So when the progressive candidate won over a more moderate candidate in last month's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, it sent the party scrambling. Catherine Welch reports.
CATHERINE WELCH, BYLINE: To understand the political headwinds Democrats in Florida are facing, just look at voter registration. There are 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, and a Democrat hasn't won a statewide election since 2018. This is the Florida the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon faces as she campaigns from the left with a message of Medicare for all and taxing billionaires. Her message got Gabe Henson's vote in the primary.
GABE HENSON: She's a very grassroots kind of candidate.
WELCH: Henson's at the weekly farmers market in downtown Orlando, where kettle corn gets scooped out of a big metal bowl and served with lemonade.
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WELCH: He's excited about her candidacy and yet mixed about her chances of winning.
HENSON: I really hope so. I'm optimistic but, you know, worried. It's Florida, you know?
WELCH: Over the past eight years, outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis' war on woke has influenced the state's Republican voters. Sipping a drink under a tree, Justin and Jessica Edwards wonder what it would take for a Democrat to win a statewide office in this environment.
JUSTIN EDWARDS: I don't know what really will work. I don't know what will get people to change their mind and get away from the status quo. Like, I don't know what it's going to take.
JESSICA EDWARDS: Well, you have to be loud, and you have to say directly what you want to happen, and people get behind you.
WELCH: Former University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus has studied Florida politics for decades. She's watching to see how Nixon's strategy plays out. First, she says, Democrats need more than just the party faithful to show up in November.
SUSAN MACMANUS: Pull some crossover votes from Republicans and then really make a heavy inroad into the almost 30% of Floridians who are registered as no party affiliation or with one of the minor parties.
WELCH: Another challenge for Nixon, she says, is the socialist label, especially for voters from immigrant groups that fled socialist governments.
MACMANUS: Knowing the makeup of Florida and the Hispanic populations down in South Florida that are really negative towards socialism, to put it bluntly.
WELCH: Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June. In a recent interview with NPR, when asked how she would describe herself, she replied...
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ANGIE NIXON: I label myself as a Democrat, as a former single mom, as someone who was determined to help improve the quality of life for all Floridians and all Americans in this country.
WELCH: As MacManus watches to see if Nixon can distance herself from the socialist label, Republican strategist Brett Doster predicts challenger Ashley Moody's campaign will hammer it.
BRETT DOSTER: I think that they're going to paint the Democrats' socialist agenda in its bleakest of terms.
WELCH: And that's what Moody did on a recent appearance on Fox News.
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ASHLEY MOODY: If she were elected, would be the most radical, extreme senator ever to step foot on the United States Senate floor.
WELCH: To fight back, Nixon will need money to run ads in Florida's multiple media markets. She entered the primary raising just shy of a million dollars, while Moody has some 11 million. Between Angie Nixon's ground game and Ashley Moody's war chest, MacManus says turnout will be the deciding factor in this midterm race with two politically savvy candidates.
For NPR News, I'm Catherine Welch in Orlando, Florida.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMMON SONG, "THEY SAY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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