JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former President Barack Obama put his name behind Jacksonville state Rep. Angie Nixon on Saturday, posting a roughly one-minute video that asks Florida voters to send the Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
In the message, Obama pointed to the shared roots the two have as community organizers and listed fights Nixon has taken on, including the push for a $15 minimum wage, her opposition to the latest congressional redistricting and a bookstore she opened in response to efforts to restrict what people can read. He urged Floridians to vote for her by Nov. 3.
Nixon said in a campaign statement that the backing gives her grassroots effort a lift in the closing days, and she framed her run around families being priced out, access to a doctor and protecting voting rights.
Nixon has held a Florida House seat covering part of the Jacksonville area since 2020, and she took 56.1 percent in the Democratic primary to beat Alex Vindman. She is challenging Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
A University of North Florida poll taken Oct. 12-19 had Moody ahead 49% to 45%, with 5% undecided, a narrower gap than the eight-point lead Moody held in July. The survey of 1,471 likely voters had an error margin of 2.81 points either way.
Obama now joins a growing list of national Democrats backing Nixon that already includes Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Early voting is underway across Florida, and Nixon’s campaign is steering voters to its website to find early voting locations.
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