Florida’s 2026 primary elections, held on Tuesday, produced a major Democratic upset and a clear Republican outcome, reshaping key races ahead of the November midterm elections.
Progressive state lawmaker Angie Nixon defeated former national security official Alexander Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary, while Republican Congressman Byron Donalds won the nomination for governor with President Donald Trump’s backing.
The Senate upset and the races around it
Nixon raised less than $1m, while Vindman raised more than 16 times as much. Nixon, a former labour activist with a base in Florida politics and progressive circles, also had support from prominent progressive figures including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Nixon will face Republican Senator Ashley Moody in November in a special election for the final two years of former Senator Marco Rubio’s term. Rubio left the seat after becoming Trump’s secretary of state.
Related coverage: Senate Democrats wargame possible election disruption scenarios.
A Republican path to the governor’s race
Donalds defeated his Republican primary opponents and is set to face Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican who later became an independent before joining the Democratic Party. Donalds is seeking to succeed term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis.
If Donalds wins in November, he would become Florida’s first Black governor. His primary victory also underscored Trump’s influence with Republican voters, while the state’s shift to the right remains a major factor in the contest.
What the congressional results showed
The primaries were the first held under Florida’s newly redrawn congressional map. The map was designed to favour Republicans and could leave Democrats with a very small number of the state’s 28 House seats.
More context: AIPAC’s $60 Million Influence in Michigan Senate Democratic Primary.
Republican Congressman Cory Mills lost his primary to former television news anchor Ryan Elijah, ending Mills’s bid for a third term. Mills had faced ethics investigations and allegations of misconduct; Trump initially backed him in February but did not include him in a list of endorsements issued on Monday.
Not every race favoured progressive or insurgent candidates. Union organiser Oliver Larkin lost to incumbent Democrat Jared Moskowitz in a new Republican-friendly district, while longtime Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz won a plurality-Black district against Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and three other Black candidates. Representative Randy Fine also won the Republican nomination in Florida’s 6th Congressional District after facing several challengers.
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