Florida is becoming one of the bigger enigmas of the already-puzzling 2026 election season. Democrats are showing themselves to be surprisingly competitive. Democrat David Jolly is running neck-and-neck with Trump-approved Republican Byron Donalds in two of three recent polls for the governor job.

And Jacksonville legislator and DSA member Angie Nixon, having upset moderate Democrat Alex Vindman in the primary, now is at least keeping it close against Republican incumbent Ashley Moody. All of which is startling in a state that went for Donald Trump by 13 points just two years ago and hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1994.

Now Nixon is turning up the heat on Republican candidates.

On an upcoming episode of Crooked Media's YouTube show Long Play, Nixon lets it fly against the Republican gubernatorial candidate.  Byron Donalds doesn't support Black people,  she tells hosts Jennifer Palmieri and Errin Haines on camera in an early cut of the episode, which debuts Monday. Haines then follows up by asking Nixon to explain what she means when she says that Donalds is  going to bring back the worst parts of our history.  Nixon replies,  I mean, he is someone who said that Black people were better off during the Jim Crow era. 

The race has grown contentious but seems to be reaching a new level of fervor as it heads into the final two weeks.

Nixon has said at rallies that she wants to keep funding the police, referring to a common anti-DSA knock, because she wants Moody, Ron DeSantis and Trump locked up. For his part, vice president J.D. Vance said recently at a rally, addressing Nixon,  Get the hell out of here, you don't belong in America.  (Nixon in the episode:  They don't have anything to run on but cruelty. )

Meanwhile, Donalds has been criticized by Jolly for not extending leniency to young people that he was shown when he was arrested on drug charges as a young man and given the opportunity of a diversion program; a hot-button new ad has a retired U.S. General calling Donalds  weak  and a  hypocrite  for it. (Palmieri and Haines discuss the ad in the new episode.)

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