Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon brought her U.S. Senate campaign to the University of South Florida's Tampa campus on Sunday night, October 4, 2026, speaking to students and community members gathered in the Marshall Student Center's Oval Theatre. The event marked the start of what her campaign is calling a student town hall series, with voter registration available on-site for anyone who needed to register or update their information.
The rally was co-organized by USF Tampa College Democrats and Bulls for Angie, according to The Oracle, USF's student newspaper. Nixon, who currently serves as the Florida House representative for District 13, is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate after announcing her campaign in January and winning the nomination over Alex Vindman in an upset in August, per the same report. She's now set to face Republican incumbent Ashley Moody in the Nov. 3 general election.
During her 22-minute speech, Nixon laid out her campaign priorities, touching on affordable housing, universal child care and health care, halting data-center construction and support for the working class, the student paper reported. Photos from the event, captured by photographer Dave Decker for Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, show Nixon addressing the crowd inside the student center.
A Campaign Built Without Corporate PAC Money
Nixon told the crowd that her campaign has not accepted corporate PAC donations, according to the Oracle's account of the event. Her campaign's Youth Director, Zander Moricz, framed the USF stop as the launch point for a broader outreach effort, saying the university is kicking off Nixon's student town hall series.
After the event, Nixon said the energy in the room reflected where young voters stand heading into the fall. The young people are fired up and ready to vote, she said, per the student paper's reporting.
Underdog Status and a Costly Air War
Nixon enters the general election as something of a financial underdog. During the primary, Vindman raised more than $16 million for his campaign while Nixon raised less than $1 million, according to NBC News. Despite that gap, she won the nomination outright. The Oracle also reports that a super PAC supporting Moody's campaign has spent nearly $2.7 million on ads targeting Nixon ahead of November.
Beyond Nixon and Moody, the race drew other contenders during qualifying. Republicans Neelam Taneja Perry of St. Petersburg, Chris Gleason of Largo and Ernest “Ernie” Rivera of Temple Terrace also paid the qualifying fee, according to Jax Today. Neil Gillespie of Ocala also qualified, running without a party affiliation, the outlet reported. Hillsborough County's own ballot-certification records list the general election matchup as Ashley Moody for the Republicans, Angie Nixon for the Democrats and Neil J. Gillespie running NPA, according to Hillsborough County Elections.
Key Dates for Hillsborough Voters
For USF students and other Hillsborough County residents looking ahead to November, the county's election office says early voting is scheduled for Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, running from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Election Day itself is set for Nov. 3, also from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Hillsborough County Elections.
