Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) will be serving her first full six-year term after defeating socialist challenger Angie Nixon in the general election on Tuesday.
Moody received 50.7% of the vote over Nixon’s 48.2%. The Associated Press called the Florida race at 8:34 p.m.
The Senate election was one of the most consequential contests this fall as Moody sought to hold on to her seat in a year when Republicans couldn’t afford to lose the upper chamber of Congress. For this reason, the race attracted much attention and money.
The Republican incumbent won support from big-name donors such as billionaire Ken Griffin, whereas her Democratic opponent prided herself on leveraging grassroots fundraising instead of benefiting from corporate PAC money.
Moody far outpaced Nixon in fundraising, bringing in more than $20 million over the election cycle. Nixon raised about $8.5 million throughout her campaign, though she brought in $2 million more than Moody for the third quarter stretching from July to September. However, Moody still has nearly $3 million more in cash on hand.
Moody also benefited from multiple high-profile endorsements given by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). Some of the major endorsements that Nixon received were from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL).
Leading up to the November election, Moody consistently outperformed Nixon in the latest polls, averaging 7 points ahead. RealClearPolitics placed the race in favor of Moody with a “leans GOP” rating.
Florida is a reliably red state, so it’s unlikely Nixon would have unseated the popular incumbent.
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Moody began serving in the Senate in January 2025 after DeSantis appointed her to replace Marco Rubio, who left Congress to serve in the Trump administration as secretary of state. Moody served as the Florida attorney general for six years prior to her Senate appointment.
Before running for the Senate, Nixon had served in the Florida House of Representatives since 2020. She is a member of the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America.