Republicans’ last-minute gerrymander upended Florida’s congressional map, setting the stage for messy primaries across the Sunshine State. And on Tuesday night, both Democrats and Republicans saw some surprising results.

The real shocker of the evening was in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Democrats were selecting an opponent to appointed senator Ashley Moody for the remainder of the term originally won by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2022. Union organizer, state legislator, and Democratic Socialists of America member Angie Nixon overcame a 16-1 financial disadvantage to defeat prize national Democratic recruit Alex Vindman by a 56 percent–to–44 percent landslide.

Vindman was the former National Security Council staffer turned whistleblower who testified about Donald Trump’s efforts to push and pull Ukraine into providing dirt on Joe Biden during the hearings that led to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019. His candidacy embodied both a demonstrable willingness to fight Trump and the hope that a less partisan Democrat and career military officer might be able to cut into Florida’s GOP vote. But Vindman (who only moved to Florida in 2023) clearly could not inspire Democratic voters the way Nixon (a native of Jacksonville who led very visible protests against this year’s GOP gerrymander in the legislature) could. Her big win will help salvage DSA/progressive morale after........

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