JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
We turn now to Florida state Representative Angie Nixon. She just won her Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
ANGIE NIXON: Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.
SUMMERS: You faced an opponent in retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman, who had the backing of the Democratic Party establishment. He also financially significantly outraised you. What message does your win send?
NIXON: The message it sends to the state, the country, the world is that good, old-fashioned grassroots organizing is the way to go, and that organized people will beat big money each and every day of the week.
SUMMERS: You're now set up to campaign against Republican Senator Ashley Moody. She's the former state attorney general, who was appointed to the Senate by Governor Ron DeSantis. And talking about you, Moody said - and I'm going to quote her here - that you and your comrades want to "destroy this country and everything that it's built on." I want to ask you about that. But also, how do you combat that kind of rhetoric and convince people to support you not just in a primary, but in a general election?
NIXON: Ashley Moody and her party are the ones that have been in charge for so long, particularly here in the state of Florida. And so I'm letting folks know that, don't worry about what she tries to label us. She's trying to label us extreme and radical simply because we believe in the most basic rights. But these are the same basic rights that everyday Floridians want. They want access to health care. They want access to housing. They want and deserve access to a quality public education. And so I'm letting folks know that I don't care about these big corporations or the Elon Musks of the world. I care about them.
SUMMERS: I want to ask you about labels because you mentioned them. And Republicans are also leaning into attacking you as a democratic socialist. I know you say it's not about labels, but I do want to ask, do you describe yourself as a democratic socialist?
NIXON: So I'm someone who just really cares about people. I just recently joined DSA, along with the Working Family Party, because they are the ones who have been fighting the hardest right now for us to have access to quality health care, for us to have access to, you know, the Medicare for All and affordable housing. And we are a big tent.
SUMMERS: Would you say, though, that you fully align with the DSA's platform?
NIXON: I don't fully align with anybody's full platform 100%, not even the Democratic Party. I mean, Hakeem Jeffries just stated the other day that he's not supportive in signing off on Medicare for All, and he is the lead Democrat in the House caucus.
SUMMERS: In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, we've seen these sweeping redistricting efforts across the South. And they could have big consequences for Black representation. I know this is an issue you've been vocal on. In fact, you mounted a protest against your state's redistricting efforts earlier this year. Now you're campaigning to head to Washington. Should Democrats in Washington have done more to head this off?
NIXON: Absolutely. I mean, our democracy is actively being destroyed. They are literally - the folks in power are allowing agencies to be weaponized against our communities. They are slaughtering our neighbors in the streets on camera, and they're getting away with it with no accountability.
SUMMERS: But speaking specifically about the issue of redistricting, what do you think that national Democrats could've done differently as we're seeing this erosion of Black political power and representation, particularly in the South, where you are?
NIXON: Yeah, they definitely should've passed the John Lewis - worked to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. I mean, let's be clear, right? We as Democrats, we had control of the House, the Senate and the presidency. And we could've put in and codified a lot of things that would've not allowed us to see what's happening right now, Trump 5.0, basically.
SUMMERS: If you defeat Senator Moody and head to Washington, do you plan to support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to continue to lead the Democratic caucus?
NIXON: I don't think that I would.
SUMMERS: Say more.
NIXON: I believe that now is the time for us to go in a direction where people are, again, listening more so to regular, hardworking Americans across the state of Florida. And some of the policies that the leader has supported goes in direct opposition of that. I am not supportive of another leadership from him at this time.
SUMMERS: We've been speaking with Florida state Representative Angie Nixon. She is now the Democratic nominee for Senate in the state of Florida. Thank you so much.
NIXON: Thank you so much for having me. Have a good day. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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