By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-16 21:16:27 | Updated at 2026-10-16 21:57:53
50 minutes ago
David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, and state Rep. Angie Nixon, the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate, are running very different campaigns less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, and new campaign finance reports show they are in very different financial positions.
Mike Fahey, 40, a Boston-based political strategist and founder of Fahey Communications, told The Epoch Times in an email that the two Democrats are trying to win “two very different versions of Florida at the same time.”
He said Jolly is betting enough frustrated Republicans and independents will cross party lines, and Nixon is betting on progressive voters who need a reason to turn out. Fahey said Jolly likely has the more realistic statewide strategy on paper, because Democrats need suburban voters worried about insurance premiums and the cost of living. He added that Jolly’s switch from Republican to Democrat is not, on its own, a reason for voters to change their vote.
Nixon faces a different problem, he said, which he believes is turning enthusiasm into a statewide majority.
“You can win the internet and still lose Florida by 10 points,” Fahey said.
He said he doesn’t think the two campaigns automatically hurt each other. The risk, he said, is that Republicans use Nixon’s progressive positions to define Jolly while progressives question whether Jolly shares their values.
“They’re trying to build a coalition without always agreeing on what that coalition stands for,” Fahey said of Democrats’ strategy.
No Democrat has won a race for Florida governor since 1994, and the party last won a U.S. Senate race in the state in 2012.
Nixon, who is set to campaign across the state with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this weekend, told CNN on Oct. 16 that she is not targeting only Democrats in her bid. She said she is talking with Republicans and libertarians, and that Republicans and independents are volunteering for her campaign.
She said a roundtable in Putnam County that was planned for seven or eight people turned into a town hall of more than 100 people on Medicare for All, about half of them Republicans.
Nixon accused Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) of being part of an “elite corrupt D.C. club of insiders” who profit from the stock market and take large donations from health insurance companies.
“We can absolutely win in Florida,” Nixon said in the television interview on Friday.
Nixon’s campaign manager, Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times this week that elections come down to which candidate voters believe will fight for them on lowering everyday costs, capping property insurance rate hikes, expanding access to healthcare and child care, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and funding care for veterans.
“Floridians across all backgrounds are looking for leaders like Angie Nixon and David Jolly who will actually put the people first,” Epstein-Ortiz said.
Cameron Gambini, a spokesperson for Moody’s campaign, called Nixon’s bid “the most radical, far-left campaign Florida has ever seen” in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on Friday.
Gambini noted that Nixon is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group he said wants to defund police, weaken the military, and abolish the Senate. The group has supported these positions in recent policy platforms.
Nixon has said in various interviews that she is not a socialist, instead insisting that she is a capitalist who believes in strong regulation.
Moody’s campaign spokesperson pointed to Nixon’s pledge to repeal tax cuts that he said Florida families are counting on. Nixon said on CNN on Friday that she wants to repeal “that big BS bill,” referring to the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included those tax cuts. He said Nixon is bringing Sanders and progressive House members to Florida because her agenda “can’t sell itself to Floridians.”
“Florida has rejected socialism before, and voters will reject Socialist Angie on Nov. 3,” Gambini said.
Nixon’s campaign did not respond by publication time to a request for comment on Moody’s statement.
Jolly’s campaign, the campaign of his Republican opponent, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and the Florida Democratic Party did not respond to multiple requests for comment by publication time. The Democratic Governors Association also did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Nixon raised about $7.2 million for her campaign committee from July 30 through Sept. 30, according to her quarterly Federal Election Commission report.
Moody, the incumbent, reported $1.84 million in contributions to her campaign committee over the same period, according to her report, which does not include the additional money Moody’s campaign said she raised in the third quarter through additional PACs.
The campaign said in a press release this week that she had raised more than $5.8 million in the third quarter when two joint fundraising committees are counted with her main one—which raised the $1.8 million figure.
Nixon’s campaign committee spent $3.3 million during the quarter and ended it with $4.1 million in cash on hand. Moody’s spent $7.7 million and had $2.8 million.
Both candidates have had help from outside spending, though the spending is lopsided.
Stronger Safer Nation, a super PAC Reuters reported is backed by Citadel founder Ken Griffin, has reported spending more than $7 million since mid-September on ads opposing Nixon, according to Federal Election Commission filings. AB PAC has reported about $2.5 million in billboard advertising supporting Nixon.
Moody has raised more over the full election cycle. Her campaign reported $8.9 million in contributions and $4.4 million in transfers from other authorized committees, about $13.3 million in total receipts. Nixon has reported about $8.1 million in contributions this cycle.
The FEC sent Nixon’s campaign a letter on Sept. 17 saying the cycle-to-date totals on her pre-primary report, which covered July 1 through July 29, appeared to be incorrect, including totals for receipts and operating expenditures. The agency asked the campaign to file an amended report by Oct. 22 and to correct any later reports affected.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee cited the FEC notices in an Oct. 13 statement calling on Nixon to be transparent with Floridians about her campaign.
In the governor’s race, Donalds holds a large fundraising lead over Jolly, according to state campaign finance records.
Donalds’s political committee, Friends of Byron Donalds PAC, has raised $125.2 million and spent $93.6 million since February 2025. His candidate account has raised another $17.1 million, for a combined total of about $142.3 million.
Jolly has raised about $19.9 million across his two accounts: $10.6 million in his candidate account and $9.3 million in his political committee, Florida 2026.
