PolitiFact is based in Florida, so it seems more invested in how Florida campaigns are operated, with their usual focus on aiding the Democrats. This week, the Democrats chose a member of the Democratic Socialists of America as their nominee for the U.S. Senate. But somehow, PolitiFact tried to suggest on Friday that state Rep. Angie Nixon can't be completely connected to the DSA's radical platform. The headline:
How aligned is Angie Nixon with democratic socialists? Moody’s Florida Senate race attack misleads
PolitiFact's Maria Briceno and Samantha Putterman exemplified how "fact checking" is often about Republican spin spoiling. There wasn't a "Truth-O-Meter" rating attached, but Nixon's opponent was found to be "misleading."
After Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a stunning upset in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, her Republican opponent sought to tie her to extreme policies.
Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody pointed to Nixon’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that received widespread attention as its members notched recent primary wins across the country. DSA member New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani began the wave with his 2025 win.
Moody, who was appointed to the seat in 2025 and is seeking to retain it, said in her Aug. 18 victory speech, “My opponent will be a self-proclaimed socialist that proudly signed up and joined the Democratic Socialists of America. That will be my opponent. … You’re going to have one side that I’m going to be up against that wants to, and the platform says, ‘Defund the police, don’t fund our military, open up the border, noncitizen voting.’”
None of that is inaccurate. But somehow describing the DSA platform "misleads." Moody's team underlined the facts:
Cameron Gambini, Moody’s campaign communications director, said the senator was referring to the DSA’s platform. “If you are voluntarily a member of the DSA, which is on record preaching to defund the police, you too support defunding the police,” Gambini said. He also pointed to Nixon’s vote against Florida’s SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, as evidence that she supports noncitizen voting.
The rest of the article is pushing the spin that Nixon is not synonymous with the DSA, which she joined in June:
When reporters have asked Nixon how her positions compare with the DSA’s, she said she agreed with many — but not all — of the group’s policies. “I don’t fully align with anybody’s full platform 100%, not even the Democratic Party,” Nixon told WLRN Aug. 19.
A Nixon campaign spokesperson told PolitiFact she also belongs to other organizations, including the Working Families Party and Service Employees International Union....The DSA has specific policy goals, but there is no set of beliefs that members must follow. Its constitution says anyone who subscribes to its principles can be a member. Some of its members support policies the group doesn’t align with. For example, the New York City DSA chapter recently criticized Mamdani for increasing the number of city police officers.
PolitiFact wanted to inform its readers in Florida and across the country that Nixon doesn't support a full defunding of police, or noncitizen voting. But it looks funny to ask "How aligned is Nixon aligned with democratic socialists" when she joined the DSA -- knowing its platform is radical. The facts are plain. The liberal spin is also obvious.
PS: We won't act surprised when PolitiFact doesn't pounce when Nixon makes blatantly false assertions as a candidate. The Republicans have already noticed that Nixon asserted Republicans are out to kill black people:
Zero fear of Fact Checkers https://t.co/1e9LzFlnBp
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) August 20, 2026
