Florida Primaries Shape the Nation’s Political Future, as Socialist Pulls Off Stunning Upset

Florida held primary elections on Tuesday for numerous local, state, and federal positions, some of which could affect the nation’s political future, with one stunning upset showing the growing power of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Key races in the Sunshine State included a Republican primary between a Jewish congressman and a Nazi-praising former social media celebrity, a race for the governor’s mansion in which one candidate criticized the other’s single-parent family upbringing, and another between two Jewish Democrats.

Socialist Stuns Notorious Trump Critic in Senate Race

Despite Florida’s strong anti-socialist sentiment, the Democratic Party nominee for U.S. Senate in Florida will be a socialist.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a shocking upset victory over retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, despite Vindman spending nearly 12 times the money on his campaign and being a central player in the 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Although she spent only $700,000 to his roughly $9 million on her primary campaign, Nixon defeated Vindman by almost 12 points.

Nixon will Sen. Ashley Moody in November’s election.

Climb to the Governor’s Mansion

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has won the Republican nomination for governor, according to the Associated Press.

Donalds obtained 47% of the vote, while Lt. Governor Jay Collins, a former military veteran, trailed Donalds by roughly 22%.

James Fishback, who repeatedly ridiculed Donalds for having grown up without a father, obtained 10.5% of the vote.

Paul Renner, a former Florida speaker of the House, who served in that role from 2022 to 2024, received 8% of the vote. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previously called Renner’s candidacy “ill-advised.”

Donalds will now face Democrat gubernatorial candidate David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties in 2025.

While Donalds has not yet appointed his running mate to serve as lieutenant governor if elected, Jolly already announced Gwen Graham as his running mate. Graham was a top aide in former President Joe Biden’s education department.

Renner, Collins and Donalds did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Hebrew Hammer Holds Seat

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., also won in a landslide over former social media celebrity Dan Bilzerian.

Days before the election, Bilzerian released an AI-generated campaign video referring to Fine as “Satan’s creepy little minion.”

“Should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions?” the video adds, displaying an image of Hitler.

The video then states that Fine sees his constituents as “goyim cattle,” before calling him a “Satanic whore” over an image of Fine sprouting horns.

Bilzerian lost his bid to Fine by almost 40% of the vote, the Associated Press reported.

Bilzerian did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

The other candidates in the race, South Florida businessman Aaron Baker, Investor Manuel Asensio, and Palm Coast Council Member Charles Gambaro, trailed the two candidates with a collective 24% of the vote.

Before the results were in, Fine told the Daily Signal that he was “feeling optimistic” about a potential victory.

Fine, who is favored to win the November general election as he represents one of the “reddest districts in the country,” added that the 120th Congress is “a mandate” for Republicans to enact the rest of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“If I were in the majority, I am going to continue fighting for the America First agenda,” Fine said, adding that his efforts will be directed towards “deporting every illegal immigrant, fighting mainstream Islam, and passing the SAVE America Act.”

However, if Republicans were to be in the minority after November, Fine will be “protecting the country from the insanity will be trying to do everyday.”

“I will try to lead the efforts, try to stop them [Democrats] from impeaching President Trump, from undoing everything that we’ve done,” the congressman continued.

‘Ground Zero’ for GOP Control

A district that the National Republican Congressional Committee labeled “ground zero” for Republican control of the House in the 120th Congress will be canvassed by Casey Askar, the Republican nominee, in November, the Associated Press noted.

The new district created by DeSantis’ newly drawn congressional map witnessed an intense primary race between Askar, a South Florida philanthropist and former Marine; cryptocurrency trader and entrepreneur Michael Carbonara; and former police Officer David Burke.

Belinda Keiser, who has a net worth close to $487 million and is the co-founder of Keiser University, also ran.

A host of other candidates all received smaller shares of the vote. Before the election, Askar was seen cruising to victory, but by a small margin, according to a National Victory Strategies poll.

Askar now faces Pia Dandiya, a former Department of Education fellow under former President Joe Biden, in November.

Askar and Dandiya did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Byron’s Old Seat

Constituents of Florida’s 19th Congressional District have seen a highly contested Republican primary since Donalds announced that he is not seeking reelection as a U.S. representative.

Candidates included former Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., who moved to the district after losing his 2022 primary election to Rep. Chuck Edwards, and Catalina Lauf, who ran for Congress in Illinois before moving to Florida, and South Florida news anchor Jim Schwartzel.

Despite being endorsed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., state Rep. Meg Weinberger, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Turning Point Action, and President Donald Trump, Lauf lost the nomination to Schwartzel by approximately 7%, the Associated Press reported.

Other candidates in the race included former Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who pleaded guilty to insider trading in 2019. Collins won only 7% of the vote.

Lauf, Schwartzel, Collins and Cawthorn did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Jewish Democrats Almost Lose Control

Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz faced a challenge in the newly drawn congressional maps against candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Schultz held her seat with 45.3% of the vote, the Associated Press noted. Her closest opponent, Dale V.C. Holness, came in behind at 23%.

Another opponent in the race, Elijah Manley, who, a few days before the election, slammed his opponent for running in a district that he claims belongs to black people, received less than 14%.

Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., who resigned earlier this year after being indicted on federal fraud charges, also ran in the district but failed to secure more than 9.3% of the vote.

In Florida’s 25th Congressional District, Moskowitz kept his seat with 63.5% of the vote, while his opponent, DSA-backed Oliver Larkin, only reached 36.5%, according to the Associated Press.

Out on the campaign trail, Larkin canvassed voters alongside anti-Israel voices like Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Melat Keiros, the Democrat nominee for Colorado’s 1st District, who refused to condemn a firebomb attack in Boulder, which claimed the life of a holocaust survivor.

Moskowitz, Schultz, Larkin, Holness, McCormick and Manley did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.