Republican Ashley Moody Holds On to Florida Senate Seat, Defeating Angie NixonThe New York Times, reporting from Patricia Mazzei, covers Republican Ashley Moody's special-election win over Democrat Angie Nixon for the Florida Senate seat Ron DeSantis appointed her to in 2025, completing Marco Rubio's term. Nixon, who would have been Florida's first Black senator, leaned into progressive policies and ran a grass-roots campaign that kept the race closer than expected in a state Trump carried by 13 points.