Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon brought her pitch to Gen Z voters directly to the University of Central Florida campus Wednesday, standing alongside a sitting U.S. senator as she tries to close a gap with Republican incumbent Ashley Moody less than a month before Election Day. Nixon told students that young Floridians are looking for candidates who will actually represent them rather than serve wealthy donors.
A Senator From Connecticut Joins the Pitch
Nixon was joined at the Orlando event by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, with the pair specifically targeting young voters and Gen Z voters, according to WESH. Nixon said college students want elected officials who will represent their interests, and argued that “college students in Florida favor candidates who are going to put them first” over billionaires and corporations, per the same report. Nixon also said children should be able to thrive and flourish rather than merely survive, a message aimed at the affordability concerns weighing on young families and students alike.
The stop built on themes Nixon has been testing across the state's college towns. At a campaign stop in Tampa earlier this month, Nixon talked about the affordability crisis facing workers and young people, as reported by WUSF. The station's report described the Tampa stop as a pep rally-style event, a tone that has carried into her broader Gen Z-focused swing through the state's universities.
Moody's Campaign Stays Elsewhere
Nixon's opponent, Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, was making campaign stops elsewhere in Florida on Wednesday. Moody's campaign declined an interview request for the UCF story, saying she was unavailable because of those other appearances, WESH reported. Moody's team has drawn scrutiny before for keeping a lower public profile; a Florida Republican told Politico in August that “I wish her campaign was more visible,” describing Moody's operation as cautious and restrained.
Evan Power, chair of the Republican Party of Florida, offered a different read on where young voters stand. Power discussed the party's efforts to reach college students and other young voters, and said those voters favor Republican candidates over Democrats and show support for President Donald Trump, according to WESH. Power went further, arguing that mainstream college students are “Republican leaning,” “Trump-leaning,” “Byron Donalds leaning” and “Ashley Moody leaning.”
National Democrats Circle Back to Central Florida
The Orlando stop is one piece of a larger national push into the race. Nixon is expected to make another Central Florida campaign appearance this coming weekend with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, WESH reported. Sanders previously endorsed Nixon and donated $250,000 from his political committee to her campaign, and he is planning four campaign events with her across Central and North Florida over the weekend, according to WLRN. That same report noted Murphy's Wednesday appearance with Nixon and said U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna is set to campaign with her on Oct. 20.
Khanna's Oct. 20 stop is tied to a free town hall at the UCF Student Union, scheduled from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and open to the public, according to Orlando Weekly. Khanna will be joined there by U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost of Orlando, state Rep. Anna Eskamani and Nixon herself, the outlet reported. On the Republican side, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was expected to campaign with Moody sometime this week, though WLRN reported that no specific date or location had been listed.
A Race Watched for Its National Stakes
The Florida Senate contest is drawing national attention because of its possible effect on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, WESH reported. One measure of how competitive the race looks heading into the stretch run comes from a RealClearPolling average cited by Florida Phoenix, which showed Moody leading Nixon by roughly seven points, 49% to 42%.
Nixon, a Florida House District 13 lawmaker, won the Democratic Senate primary in August, and her campus visits since then have focused heavily on affordability, housing, the job market and deportation, according to the student newspaper at UCF, Nicholson Student Media. The outlet reported that about 97,770 Orange County voters between 18 and 25 were registered, according to the county Supervisor of Elections website, and cited a Pew Research Center study finding that the economy and affordability rank as the top two priorities for voters in the general election. The same report noted that Florida has voted consistently Republican since the 2018 midterm, and that turnout for the 2026 primary reached just 21.4% of eligible voters — numbers that help explain why both parties are putting so much energy into turning out young voters before Election Day.
