By Michael Moline | Editor in Chief
“Voters across the country, especially here in Florida, know that nothing is more important than flipping the U.S. Senate. The only way to cut costs for working families, root out corruption in D.C., and finally hold the Trump administration accountable is to deliver a Democratic majority this November. — Alex Vindman
Then-Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Alex Vindman meeting with reporters at the FDP’s Leadership Blue conference in Lake Buena Vista on July 18, 2026. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
The vanquished candidate is sending $250,000 of the $7.2 left in his Senate campaign account to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and top U.S. Senate Democratic candidates, including Mary Peltola in Alaska, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Troy Jackson in Maine. He’d already sent $400,000 to the Florida Democratic Party last week to help candidates here, including Angie Nixon.
COMMENTARY
Columnist Barrington Salmon, reflecting on Angie Nixon’s win in the Senate primary, sees a potentially fatal miscalculation by establishment Democrats fearful of the energy within the party’s progressive wing. They “are locked,” he writes, “not just in an ideological and generational battle but also a search for their identity that many in the party fear will divide them and give Republicans the opening they need to keep their tenuous hold on Congress. Progressives, democratic socialists, and the voters they are attracting are telling establishment Democrats to lead, follow, or get out the way.”
Progressive organizers have found a role model in the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, the network promoting conservative policies at the state level. Activist Gaby Goldstein points to ALEC’s focus on state capitols and nurturing of relationships connecting conservative lawmakers from coast to coast. “These are real people who are real friends,” she said. “I admire ALEC very much. I admire a lot about the right.” Organizers understand this will take time. “We’re just in an unprecedented moment, right?” says Mandara Meyers of the States Project. “I think states are dealing with a different kind of challenge and a different kind of federal interference than they ever have before.”
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