What A Day - Angie Nixon's Fight To Uplift Everyday People In Florida

Episode Date: October 16, 2026

This weekend, Senator Bernie Sanders will rally with Florida Democratic State Representative Angie Nixon, who is challenging Republican Senator Ashley Moody for Florida's U.S. Senate seat. Running on a platform of lowering costs, raising wages, and putting everyday people first, Nixon joins Jane to discuss her campaign.Show Notes: Check out Angie's campaign – https://angienixon.com/ Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail]

My opening statement would be I am running against a lying, cheating, thieving, scamming woman who stole $10 million from sick kids. And if she steals $10 million from sick kids, she'll do anything, including working to end Social Security. She would also work to close and shut down all of public schools, public education completely, and we can't trust her. It's Friday, October 16th. Jane Koston, and this is what a day. It's been a very long week for the new White House press secretary, Katie, Zachariah. And today, President Donald Trump told her Katie, I think you've had enough. Here he is speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before leaving for a rally in Georgia. Which you have liked to have known that Katie Zachariah didn't pass a bar and how we should

break up the country? Well, Katie's been treated very badly by the media, very, very unfairly, I think. And I just spoke to her about it. I said, Katie, is this for you? Because, you know, she's been treated very rough. And she's a nice person. Very nice person. I've watched her for years on television. But I said, is this for you, Katie? Because honestly, you don't need this. You know. According to the New York Times, Zachari has been fired from her role after five days. For those wondering, that is 0.64 Scaramucci's. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in multiple villages across the occupied West Bank today. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that six people were injured in two attacks

outside Ramallah. Among those hurt was a Washington Post photojournalist, Heidi Levine. In multiple videos posted online, Israeli settlers kicked Levine, who is clearly wearing a protective vest stating she's a member of the press and took her cameras and phone. According to Palestinian officials, at least four Palestinians have been killed and more than a hundred others injured since the olive harvest season began earlier this month. They say thousands of of trees have been damaged, costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Israel's police and army didn't comment on the attacks at the time of this recording. Pope Leo XIV gave strong indications that he was recovering well from lung cancer surgery.

On Friday, he was very much in charge of running the Catholic Church, even speaking on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first thing anyone recovering from lung cancer surgery would want to do. The Vatican said that during the call with Putin, the Holy Father expressed, his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in recently attacked regions and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population. The statement added that Leo reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to promoting dialogue and peace.

But I want to talk about Florida. Joining me is Florida State Representative Angie Nixon, the Democratic candidate running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Angie Nixon, welcome to Water Day. Hey, how you doing? What a day. What a day. You know, you're not the first person to say that.

And now I'm like, yeah, what a day. What a day. So this weekend, you are having a rally with Bernie Sanders in Tallahassee. Do you think Florida is ready for a DSA senator? And how Floridian's been responding to DSA? So, you know, I joined the organization. I am not like a active member, just like I joined. joined the Working Families Party.

And just like I became a lifetime member of NWACP around the same time. And so Floridians are ready for something different. They are ready for someone that is going to put them first and put people before politics, people before profit, people before party. And I'm excited to meet that moment right now. Folks are being boldly attacked.

And so this moment requires bold fighters, unapologetic leadership that is going to write more than strongly worded emails in Washington, D.C., but it's actually going to, you know, have a backbone stay ten toes down for their constituents and, you know, not not buckle to special interest groups. Like, I'm not modern paid for. I only listen to regular everyday people, and I'm excited. So you first ran for office the year after you graduated from college. And you and I are close enough in age. That was like the financial crisis, people losing their homes, everything kind of going to hell in a handbasket. What made you gravitate to politics

in that moment? I gravitated to politics because people were not speaking to issues that concerned me being a single black mom in Florida in the South. And I did not want to just give away my power to folks who weren't listening to me. I wanted to have a voice. I wanted others that were young people to have a voice. And so I decided to run. I didn't win, but it opened up a bunch of doors and I became a community organizer some years later

and really got involved in the community and working to build power. And then after that, I literally tried to get someone to run against a state rep who I felt again did not have my interest in the interest of the community at the forefront of their minds. And so I tried to find someone to run against them. No one would. And so I ran and I was able to unseat an incumbent.

And the same thing is happening again right now. Like I was trying to find people to run against Ashley Moody, but no one that I thought who was running was actually speaking to the issues of what people needed in this moment. And so I decided to run again and here I am, you know, out fundraising the current incumbent by like $2 million in this last quarter. And I am holding her feet to the fire. I'm making her campaign in a way that she has never had to campaign before. And I am excited about it. People are, again, they're getting energized and we're able to talk about and highlight different issues that sometimes.

would, you know, be swept under the rug or pushed to the side. And that's because, again, I'm a community organizer. I believe in centering people and not centering big corporations or, you know, greedy billionaires. So let's talk about your opponent, Ashley Moody. She has refused to debate you. What would be your opening statement if you did have a debate? My opening statement would be I am running against a lying, cheating, thieving, scamming woman who stole $10 million from sick kids. And if she steals $10 million from sick kids, she'll do anything, including working to end Social Security. She would also work to close and shut down all of public schools, public education completely. And we can't trust her.

And so she is someone who we need to unseat because she does not have their best interest in heart. She's only looking out for her corporate campaign donors, including the insurance companies who are failing to even pay out claims here. We have people who are still, have not had their homes rebuilt after two and four years of hurricanes having hit them. And it's so shameful. And so I look forward to answering questions at this debate. and showing you all how I'm going to be the best candidate for you all to let come November 3rd. Man, I wish this debate were actually happening.

I really, really do. I really do. Because, you know, you've made the point that Ashley Moody basically took $10 million from sick kids for the Medicaid program. And you made the point that, like, how could you be wanting to abolish prisons if you think that Ashley Moody should go to jail? Exactly. I definitely don't want to.

abolish prisons. I want to abolish for-profit prisons because people shouldn't be making money off of the criminal justice system. We need to work on rehabilitating people and not pimping them out for free labor, right? That's absolutely absurd. You know, Ashley Moody is a liar. She's saying a lot of things. She's spreading a lot of disinformation. But I mean, that's in her. Like, she can't run on her policies. She voted to end health care for over 440,000 people in the state. She voted to end, you know, to keep the war in Iran happening, which is causing people's, causing their gas prices to go up, everything, all of our goods, all of our food to go up, the diesel prices.

She's just a bad, she's just a really bad person. She's rubber-stamped, them deporting people. Back to Cuba and Venezuela, even though, they talk trash about what's happening in Cuba and Venezuela, like rightfully so, right? But they're sending people back there, or they're sending people to places in Africa, countries in Africa, which is so wild to me.

And so she needs to go. She's not a good person. She's a liar, cheated, fever, scammer, and the truth ain't in it. So. You know, I appreciate a candidate who's willing to just say that by opponent is just a bad I think that we need that we need more honesty in politics.

So no Florida Democrat has won a Senate race since the 2018 loss of Bill Nelson. Prediction markets give Moody a large edge. What is your path to getting the votes from Floridians to beat Ashley Moody? The path is to go out and knock on as many doors, make as many phone calls, raise as much money to stay on media. But to go meet people where they are. I'm going to have conversations with folks. I am going into, quote, unquote, opposition territory, even red counties. Like, this is not about Democrat versus Republican.

This is about putting hardworking everyday people first. And so that is what I'm going to do. That is what has been resonating with people, not just Democrats, but Republicans and independence as well. And that's how we're going to win. We'll get back to my conversation with Representative Angie Nixon in just a moment. What a day is brought to you by homeserve. Here's the thing about the home disasters that sneak up and bite you. Most of them cost more than a car repair. HomeServe offers plans starting at

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or use promo code Wad 40 at checkout. Again, that's wellgrine.com slash Wad 40 or use Wad 40 at checkout. Let's get back to my conversation with Representative Angie Nixon. So I think that there's been this idea in the media and elsewhere that Florida is just a red state now. That's just it. That's just how it's going to be for the rest of time. Why are people wrong about that? Florida is not a red state. We've been flipping seats all across the state this past year and these past two years, right?

And that is because people have been investing in this state within certain areas more recently. And so that's the problem. Florida has been a very underinvested state. People have divested from the state after 2018 when a black man got super close to the governor. his mansion. Instead of pouring more money in to make up that gap, they like took the money and like said, nah, figure it out. And we've been holding the line. Florida is worth fighting for. We've been winning progressive issues. And so we just need more investment. And I'm so happy that I'm happy, you know, those big donors, some of the big donors have come through, not all,

not as many as we would have liked or have been in the past. But what I am happy, though, is that regular everyday people have been investing in this campaign. And I mean, our average donation is like $30, a little, maybe a little over $30. And we've raised over $2 million more than Ashley Moody has this past quarter. And so it just shows you that we have a winning message. We just need more people to lean. and people are tired and frustrated and I'm excited about what we have coming up. And I think we're going to shock the world on November 3rd.

There's been a lot of reporting and data showing that younger voters are especially, they're tired of Trump. They are completely turned off by the political environment right now. But this is the only political environment they've ever known. There are a lot of people, you know, that's something like it's crazy for me to think about. But like they don't remember Obama. It's been trumped their entire lives, essentially, of, like, being conscious of politics. When you talk to younger voters, what are they telling you about their big concerns and what are you telling them about what you want to do?

I stopped a group of girls that came to one of my bench. I said, what are you concerned with as young people? And they said that it's never going to be enough, that them working hard enough, like that the gap is going to continue to get bigger and grow. that's sad that people are working hard. They do all the things right. They go to school. They get a good job. And it's still not enough.

But it should be enough. The problem is we have politicians that are making decisions that are only benefiting their friends and family who are super rich or themselves or their campaign donors, which are these big companies or these ultra wealthy people. It is shameful that there are unhoused, there are homeless people living on the streets. And we have billionaires that are racing to see who can get the furthest in space, but they don't pay all of their workers living decent wages. The fact that they are actively using, you know, union busting, right?

The fact that they provide trainings for their staff. And in those trainings, they teach their staff about how to get food stamps and SNAP benefits and Medicaid because they get kickbacks, they get tax breaks and subsidies for hiring people like that. when they wouldn't need to hire people like that if they paid them a living wage. People won't be on something. So it's just like it's so messed up. And it doesn't have to be this way.

And that's why I'm running because it is now time for us to put people in place who are going to look out for just regular everyday people. And, you know, a lot of establishment folks don't, they're not, they don't want me there. Even some of the establishment donors, because they're going to be. be okay, right? They are fearful that I'm going to hold them accountable. Like I'm holding everyone accountable. I'm talking Republicans, independents, Democrats, whatever. Like, everyone needs to be held accountable. But this is a country of abundance. And I just don't understand how we have people who are dying. We're allowing people to die because they don't have enough money for health

insurance. Like that doesn't, that's not okay. This, none of this is normal in this moment. The children, the young people, they're worried about ICE, kidnapping their friends. They're worried about AI coming in and causing them to lose access to jobs. I read a study, like an article, 7 to 10% of jobs may be lost in three to five years due to AI. That's millions of people in this country. What's going to happen? What are they going to do? They don't work these jobs where these billion-dollar companies ain't paying them living wages. When does it end? And so we need to rethink this next 250 years of our country. And, you know, the people that are living good and that are okay right now, they're worried. They're worried about someone like me winning and becoming a

Senator because they're worried that, like, I'm going to make it possible for just regular everyday people to not just have to survive, but having the means to thrive and to actually flourish. And so I'm going to work hard to make that happen and to make sure that our children are hopeful. Andrea Nixon, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me. That was my conversation with Florida State Representative Angie Nixon. She's the Florida Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Before we go, if you missed this Wednesday's episode of Still Counting,

you might want to head over and give it a listen. This week, renowned non-partisan data journalist Nate Silver, Claire Malone, and Galen Drook are answering listener questions about the midterms. Plus, they're debating conventional midterms wisdom to try to help us understand what could go right and what might go sideways in the fast-reproaching election. election. Check out still counting on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a review.

Donald Trump has been screwing over his own supporters and tell your friends to listen. And if you are into reading, and not just about what one Trump voter told MS now. The whole time he was preaching, we're going to help the farmers, we're going to help the farmers, help the farmers, help the farmers. And out of any president that I can remember, I've hurt more under him than I have any other president. Fuel prices, beef prices. I mean, he's just, he's cutting our throat. Like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston. And when you notice that multiple Trump supporting congressional districts or a coin flip this November, well, it's not hard to see why.

What a day is a production of crooked media. Our show is produced by Emily 4, Erica Morrison, and Adrian Hill. Our team includes Haley Jones, Greg Walters, Metberg, Adam Lippberg, Johanna case and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had helped today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. Long play, our docu-series exploring the people and forces shaping the South is back. Newsflash, the South is the new political epicenter of the country. Democrats are way on their heels in this region, but Republicans are going through their own reckoning in the South, too. We're in the final stretch of the midterms, and the political map has only gotten more competitive

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