TAMPA, Fla. — Republican Sen. Ashley Moody and Democratic challenger Angie Nixon agree that affordability is a concern for Florida families. But they offer sharply different ideas about how the federal government should respond, and each faces questions that could shape how voters view their candidacies.
Nixon, a Jacksonville state representative who won the Democratic primary, is calling for a larger federal role in health care, child care, housing, and paid leave. Moody argues that lower taxes and less government involvement are the better way to put money back in Americans’ pockets.
The race also has become a debate over political ideology and accountability, with Moody criticizing Nixon’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America and Nixon pointing to the controversy surrounding the Hope Florida program, which received $10 million from a Medicaid settlement while Moody was attorney general.
Nixon wants a bigger federal role in affordability
For Nixon, the cost of living is personal.
“I was a single mom for 12 years, and I know what it's like to struggle,” Nixon said in an interview with Tampa Bay 28. “I know what it's like to have to make tough decisions regarding whether or not I buy my daughter her albuterol pump or whether or not … we have enough money for her to eat.”
Nixon’s platform calls for Medicare for All, universal child care, paid family and medical leave, and a national rent stabilization policy. She also supports raising the federal minimum wage and imposing a wealth tax on billionaires. Her campaign website says the proposals would be funded in part by taxing the wealthy and changing federal spending priorities.
Nixon argues the policies would not raise taxes on most Americans.
“These ideas, these policies, will not cause people's taxes to go up, except if you're an ultra-wealthy billionaire,” she said.
During an interview, Nixon also cited estimates of economic benefits from universal health care and child care. She did not provide a total price tag for her broader agenda.
Moody takes a different approach.
Moody points to Republican tax changes
Moody, a Plant City Republican who was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2025 after Marco Rubio left the seat to become secretary of state, previously served as Florida attorney general from 2019 to 2025.
Before that, she was a Hillsborough County circuit judge and a federal prosecutor. Her Senate biography describes her priorities as supporting President Donald Trump’s agenda, securing the border, and upholding the rule of law.
Moody says the federal government should get out of people’s way and let them keep more of their earnings.
“I was so proud to stand up for fighting to keep more money in your pockets because when I say I think we need to get government out of your way, I mean it,” Moody said during a recent campaign stop in Indian Rocks Beach.
She points to Republican-backed tax changes, including a new deduction for tips and an expanded child tax credit, as evidence her party is delivering for working families.
“In terms of bringing home wins, keeping more money in people's pockets, we can say we delivered that,” Moody said.
Nixon’s Democratic Socialist affiliation draws attacks
Moody has also made Nixon’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America a focus of her campaign.
Nixon joined the organization in June. She has said she does not support all of its policies and has rejected the label of socialist as a complete description of her political beliefs. PolitiFact examined the dispute and noted that DSA membership does not mean every member agrees with every position in the group’s platform.
Asked what democratic socialism means to her, Nixon said it is about giving people more say over their communities and economies.
“Democratic socialism — what that means to me is fighting to ensure people have a right to decide what their communities look like and what their economies look like,” Nixon said. “I'm not a socialist. There's a difference, right? There is a stark difference between the two.”
She has also drawn support from prominent progressive figures, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, and campaigned on policies such as universal health care and child care.
Hope Florida controversy follows Moody
Nixon, meanwhile, has criticized Moody over Hope Florida, a state program launched under DeSantis to connect people with assistance.
The controversy centers on $10 million from a Medicaid settlement that was paid to the Hope Florida Foundation. The foundation later made grants to two nonprofit groups, which donated the money to a political committee opposing a proposed recreational marijuana legalization amendment.
A leaked grand jury report described the transfer as a misappropriation of funds for political purposes but did not indict anyone. The report said there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.
In October, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal ordered the grand jury report expunged. It ruled that the grand jury had exceeded its authority by declaring conduct unlawful without returning indictments and that the report had been improperly released.
Moody has dismissed suggestions of wrongdoing as politically motivated. On Oct. 13, she told WOID, a South Florida radio station: “I think at this point any insinuations have been totally political. They're absurd.”
Nixon continues to use the controversy to question Moody’s record and call for accountability.
Candidates make their cases to voters
Moody declined to debate Nixon and, unlike Nixon, did not agree to a sit-down interview with Tampa Bay 28.
She did answer a few questions from Tampa Bay 28 at a recent campaign event in Pinellas County.
Early voting has begun in many Florida counties. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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