Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon is running a coffee shop and bookstore in Jacksonville where, according to her own account, customers can receive free Plan B emergency contraceptive pills.
Nixon, a Democratic Socialist state representative, owns Café Resistance, which she describes as a “bookstore, coffee shop, and community hub.” In a <a href="https://convergencemag.com/articles/angie-nixon-dont-surrender-power/">June interview</a>, Nixon said the business distributes free Plan B while also hosting events and conversations for members of the “LGBTQ community.”
“We offer free black history lessons on the first and third Saturday,” Nixon said in the interview. “We host mental health workshops. We give away free Plan B emergency contraceptive pills. We invite the LGBTQ community to host conversations that build bridges.” Nixon described the establishment as a “safe place and community hub,” saying she opened it in response to Florida legislation restricting books and classroom instruction.
The café’s role in distributing contraception is one part of Nixon’s radical record on social issues that has put her at odds with Florida Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nixon has <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/1622034876680527872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1622034876680527872%7Ctwgr%5Efce7b459fa6eb025bc02c23b0682574de54838ae%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftennesseestar.com%2Fnews%2Fflorida-democrat-admits-taking-daughter-to-drag-shows-just-folx-dancing-in-cute-outfit%2Fsberry%2F2023%2F02%2F07%2F">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://x.com/NRSC/status/2089882534125478399?s=20">defended</a> bringing her children to drag performances. In 2023, amid debate over Florida legislation restricting minors’ access to adult live performances containing lewd or sexual content, Nixon <a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/04/12/florida-lawmaker-on-concept-of-erasing-lgbtq-community-over-drag-show-drama-damn-right/">said</a> the legislation was “designed to target parents like me.”
“I know what’s appropriate for my child &amp; this is taking away MY PARENTAL RIGHTS,” Nixon wrote at the time, describing the drag show as “just folx dancing in cute outfits.” Nixon has also opposed Republican-backed restrictions on transgender policies in Florida schools. During debate over legislation expanding Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law and restricting schools from using pronouns that do not correspond with a student’s sex, Nixon <a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2023/04/01/florida-house-backs-parental-rights-in-education-law-expansion/">said</a>, “The LGBTQ community isn’t going away, trans people aren’t going away.”
After the Supreme Court ruled that states and schools could prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports, Nixon put out a <a href="https://angienixon.com/u-s-senate-candidate-angie-nixon-responds-to-scotus-ruling-allowing-states-to-bar-transgender-girls-from-girls-sports/">statement</a> criticizing the decision, arguing that it put “trans children and all young girls and women athletes in harm’s way.”
She also previously accused DeSantis of attempting to “eliminate black history and push out our LGBTQ friends.” Nixon is now taking that record to the statewide stage as she seeks to fill the Senate seat once held by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She will face current Senator Ashley Moody to finish Rubio’s term — which ends in January 2029. Her campaign is centered on issues such as housing, wages, health care, and organized labor, while her record on cultural issues places her firmly on the party’s far-left wing.
Democrats face a steep climb in Florida, where Republicans have won statewide elections by increasingly wide margins. Nixon nevertheless argues that year-round organizing and an appeal to disaffected working-class voters can give Democrats a path back to power.
Whether that strategy can overcome Florida’s political landscape remains to be seen. But Nixon is offering voters a candidacy that pairs an explicitly socialist economic agenda with a far-left approach to some of the country’s most contentious cultural issues — a record that includes bringing her children to drag shows and operating a café where customers can receive free Plan B.

Florida Senate Candidate Angie Nixon Rallies Supporters On Eve Of Primary Election

Dem Senate Candidate Gives Out Free Plan B At Her Cafe

2026 Midterms

Angie Nixon

Contraception

Democrat

Drag show

Drag Shows

elections 2026

Florida

Leftism

Leftist

Leftist Ideology

Leftists

Senate

Senate Democrats

Senate Race

U.S. Senate

In a scandal first uncovered by The Daily Wire, a new Department of Homeland Security <a class="decorated-link" href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-08/OIG-26-21-Aug26.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_new" rel="noopener" data-start="90" data-end="196">inspector general report</a> found that a FEMA disaster response crew illegally skipped Florida homes displaying signs supporting President Donald Trump, as workers surveyed damage from Hurricane Milton without proper training.
In November 2024, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-fema-official-ordered-relief-workers-to-skip-houses-with-trump-signs">The Daily Wire first exposed</a> the FEMA scandal after multiple federal employees confirmed that a supervisor ordered disaster relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida, to identify residents eligible for federal aid. Internal messages obtained by The Daily Wire showed that supervisor Marn’i Washington issued the directive both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, according to multiple government employees.
“This situation eroded public trust in FEMA’s ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance, and ensure equal access to resources and tools,” the inspector general’s report <a href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-08/OIG-26-21-Aug26.pdf">said</a>. 
The 25-page investigation concluded that the discrimination violated both FEMA policy and the Hatch Act. The <a href="https://www.osc.gov/services/hatch-act/overview/">1939 federal law</a> prohibits government employees from using their positions or government resources for partisan political activity.
FEMA disaster relief crews canvassed more than 744,000 homes and other locations after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. But a DHS watchdog found that workers deliberately skipped 11 homes displaying signs supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Images obtained by The Daily Wire showed workers documenting the homes in the government system with messages such as “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”
<div id="attachment_1165733" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1165733" class="wp-image-1165733 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/fema-avoid-trump-1.avif 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Microsoft Teams chat used by FEMA workers.</div>
“These issues occurred due to weaknesses in FEMA’s training, documentation, and oversight,” the inspector general&#8217;s report concluded. “FEMA DSA [Disaster Survivor Assistance] crews did not receive ethics and Hatch Act training before deploying to disasters, DSA policies and procedures did not require crews to explain why they skipped homes, and DSA crew leaders were not required to conduct quality control reviews of survivor interactions.” 
Investigators also interviewed 18 random FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crew members deployed during the natural disasters and found 11 who said they never received Hatch Act training.
Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm on September 26, 2024, unleashing catastrophic flooding and devastation that killed hundreds and caused billions of dollars in damage from the Gulf Coast to the mountains of North Carolina. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton struck near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, battering communities still reeling from Helene. 
President Biden quickly approved major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, unlocking federal aid to help survivors clean up and begin rebuilding.
As FEMA scrambled to respond to the back-to-back disasters, the agency called on a DHS Surge Capacity Force, drawing volunteers from other DHS agencies to bolster its understaffed workforce ahead of Hurricane Milton.
“I know they’re short-staffed, I thought we could go help and make a difference,” one of the employees told The Daily Wire at the time. “When we got there we were told to discriminate against people. It’s almost unbelievable to think that somebody in the federal government would think that’s okay.” 
The employee said it felt wrong to discriminate against Trump supporters when they were at their “most vulnerable.” 
“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee said. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”
The guidance came as the Biden administration faced mounting criticism over what many rural communities described as a lackluster response to Hurricane Helene. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, residents <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-small-tennessee-town-survived-helene-after-the-emergency-response-floundered">told</a> The Daily Wire that it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to arrive. Carter County, where the town is located, <a href="https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/tennessee/">voted 81%</a> for Trump.
The FEMA workers ordered to bypass homes displaying Trump signs were operating in Highlands County, a deep-red region of south-central Florida that backed Trump with 70% of the vote. The county was battered by tornadoes, torrential winds and rain, and flooding when Hurricane Milton struck in October.
The inspector general’s report laid out the limited exceptions in which FEMA workers could skip homes, including &#8220;hostile&#8221; interactions with residents, no-trespassing or private-property signs, hazardous debris, or purple paint marking a property as off-limits.
Political signs supporting Trump were not among the exceptions.
The inspector general reviewed thousands of FEMA canvassing records and identified 11 cases with notes indicating potential political bias. The workers logged the skipped homes under generic categories such as “Not Able to Access Property” and “Private Property.” 
“However, in the notes field all 11 surveys included the name of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to explain the reason for skipping the homes,” the investigation found. 
<div id="attachment_1165737" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1165737" class="wp-image-1165737 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1-1024x512.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-17-PM-8891-2048x1024-1.avif 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />One of the homes skipped by FEMA/ FEMA app tracking what homes were visited.</div>
The report could not determine whether FEMA workers used similar discriminatory tactics elsewhere in the country as communities reeled from hurricane devastation.
“We could not determine if crews skipped locations for unallowable reasons during other disasters because the support contract for FEMA’s Field Assessment and Collection Tools ended in September 2025 when then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem did not act on FEMA’s request to fund it before expiration,” investigators said.  
Looking forward, the inspector general issued four recommendations: strengthen ethics and Hatch Act training before deployments, create a system to document survivor interactions, and require FEMA crews to standardize how they record skipped homes and the reasons for doing so. 
After The Daily Wire broke the story, a FEMA spokesman said the agency was “deeply disturbed” and “horrified” by the employee’s actions, and that it has “taken extreme actions to correct this situation.”

MixCollage-08-Nov-2024-03-07-PM-8035-e1735225768669

Daily Wire Bombshell Leads To Report Finding FEMA Illegally Skipped Trump Supporters’ Homes

Biden Administration

FEMA

Hurricane

hurricane damage

Hurricane Milton

Inspector general

Investigation

natural disasters

News

North Carolina

Politics

Trump Administration

Andrew Tate’s lawyers are arguing that the social media influencer’s carefully cultivated image of extreme wealth was largely an act — as many of the supercars and luxury yachts he repeatedly flaunted online were rented or borrowed for content.
The extraordinary admission came in a court filing as Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where they face <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-the-graphic-allegations-unsealed-against-the-tate-brothers?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Read+The+Graphic+Allegations+Unsealed+Against+The+Tate+Brothers">dozens of criminal charges</a> that both men deny.
The brothers’ attorneys told a federal court that Tate’s business model “depends on online attention” and that the outrageous lifestyle portrayed on social media was deliberately exaggerated to generate views, engagement, and ultimately income.
“The outrageousness of the posts by them and about them is the point,” the lawyers wrote. “The more hyperbolic and outlandish the post, the more likely it will generate views and likes, which in turn generates income. In short, they are playing a role.”
His lawyers now say much of that imagery should not be taken at face value. Cars advertised in Tristan Tate&#8217;s videos, including a $2.1 million Aston Martin and two Bugattis worth a combined $12 million, were rented, according to the court filing.
The brothers also did not own a superyacht featured prominently in their online content. Instead, their lawyers said, the yacht belonged to someone else and the Tates were paid to promote it on social media. “A promotional video filmed aboard a yacht is not evidence of title to the yacht,” the lawyers wrote.
The filing also pushed back on claims about Andrew Tate’s watch collection, saying valuations circulating online were based on a “third-party enthusiast publication” rather than proven ownership of the watches.
The explanation for the deception was straightforward: the Tates were selling an image.
“Further, the Tates are engaged in several businesses ‘teaching’ men how to earn money,” their lawyers wrote. “It is in their interest to portray themselves on social media as uberwealthy.”
That business model has long relied on convincing followers that the Tates possess the secret to extraordinary financial success. Their online courses, including Hustlers University, marketed lessons on making money and adopting the Tates’ approach to business and life.
The lawyers also sought to explain away other extravagant claims made by the brothers online, including suggestions that their social media posts generated enormous amounts of money and that they possessed essentially unlimited cryptocurrency and cash.
“All of these posts are hyperbole,” the lawyers said. The admissions are particularly significant because prosecutors have cited the Tates’ own public claims about their wealth as evidence that they have substantial resources and could pose a flight risk.
The government has argued that the brothers have “significant resources available to them,” as well as extensive social media networks.
Tate’s lawyers are now arguing that prosecutors should not take those boasts literally because the men deliberately cultivate an exaggerated online persona.
The distinction could prove important as the brothers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-trump-admin-will-not-intervene-on-behalf-of-the-tate-brothers?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Trump+Admin+Will+Not+Intervene+On+Behalf+Of+The+Tate+Brothers">fight extradition</a>. Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Miami in July after British prosecutors brought an additional 38 charges against them, bringing their combined total to 59.
Andrew Tate faces allegations including rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and offenses involving child sexual abuse material. Tristan Tate faces rape, sexual assault, and sex trafficking allegations. Both brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and characterized the British case as politically motivated. The brothers are currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami while the extradition proceedings move forward.

Tate Brothers Return To Romania After US Visit

Andrew Tate’s Own Lawyers Say His Whole Image Is A Fraud

Andrew Tate

Britain

Cars

Crime

England

Great Britain

Miami

Sex Crimes

Tate Brothers

Tristan Tate

United Kingdom

wealth

Yacht

Angie Nixon, the socialist who just stunned Florida Democrats in a Senate primary, spent months attacking slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk — calling his supporters tools of “white supremacy” and comparing a bill honoring the Turning Point USA founder to something “brought straight by the KKK.”
Only six days after Kirk was murdered, State Rep. Nixon (D-FL)<a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/1968064168629772383?s=20"> attacked</a> GOP lawmakers who introduced resolutions honoring Kirk and those who supported them.
“It is BEYOND disrespectful for<a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott"> @SenRickScott</a> &amp;<a href="https://x.com/JimmyPatronis"> @JimmyPatronis</a> to introduce resolutions honoring Charlie Kirk. That man said some of the most hateful about Black People and cloaked it in scripture,” Nixon wrote on Sept. 16. “ If you support it, you are a tool of white supremacy, and I DID NOT STUTTER!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It is BEYOND disrespectful for <a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenRickScott</a> &amp; <a href="https://x.com/JimmyPatronis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JimmyPatronis</a> to introduce resolutions honoring Charlie Kirk. That man said some of the most hateful about Black People and cloaked it in scripture. If you support it, you are a tool of white supremacy and I DID NOT STUTTER!
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/1968064168629772383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“And he was homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic&#8230;the list goes on and on,” Nixon said of the 31-year-old conservative activist, who evangelized on college campuses and built a political ground game that helped elect President Donald Trump.
Months later, Nixon <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021261020803527005?s=20">bragged</a> about voting “NO on the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance Bill in the Florida Legislature,” calling the legislation “a slap in the face to Black Women.” 
When the <a href="https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82648">bill</a> establishing a Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance came before the Florida Legislature, Nixon escalated her attacks.
“This bill, to members of my community, black people, is like a bill brought straight by the KKK,” Nixon said during the debate, according to<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-house-charlie-kirk-day-bill/"> CBS News</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Just voted NO on the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance Bill in the Florida Legislature. It’s a slap in the face to Black Women that this bill was even brought forth in our committee. This body has consistently shown that it is ok to be anti-Black Women in this state. Disrespectful!
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021261020803527005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nixon argued that Kirk should not be memorialized, claiming the legislation was an attempt to “sanitize what this guy was about.” She also accused the Florida Legislature of promoting “hate and cruelty,” declaring that it was “OK” in the legislative body to be “anti-black” and “anti-Muslim.”
“If you removed all of the stuff he said about Black people and made it about Jewish people, we wouldn&#8217;t be here,” Nixon said. “We would label him antisemitic, and you&#8217;d be saying he&#8217;s saying things that are terroristic.”
After facing intense online backlash, Nixon <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021395287345176699?s=20">lashed out</a> at her critics in crude terms. 
“Hi keyboard warriors! I’m not gonna be too many more of your apes, dirty b*tches,” she wrote, adding that her critics were “illustrating why I voted no on that divisive bill.”
RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall blasted Nixon&#8217;s remarks in a statement to The Daily Wire. 
“Nixon’s repulsive comments are hateful and unhinged, just like her,” Hall said. 
Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, scored a major upset Tuesday night by defeating former Trump impeachment witness Alex Vindman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/socialist-scores-major-upset-stuns-trump-impeachment-witness-in-senate-primary?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Socialist+Scores+Major+Upset%2C+Stuns+Trump+Impeachment+Witness+In+Senate+Primary">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported. 
The Jacksonville lawmaker, who went <a href="https://x.com/RealJessica/status/2049858609165582734?s=20">viral</a> for shouting down her colleagues with a bullhorn, will face Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in November to determine who will serve the final two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate term.
Nixon&#8217;s upset marks a major victory for the Democratic Party’s insurgent socialist — and potentially a major break for Republicans in a state Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Prediction markets give Moody a <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/florida-senate-election-winner">94% chance</a> of winning the seat in November. 
“Ashley Moody is saying, &#8216;Thank you, God. Thank you, God,&#8217;” CNN’s polling guru Harry Enten <a href="https://x.com/ForecasterEnten/status/2090858534724403510?s=20">joked</a> Friday. 
“It turns out that nominating a self-described Democratic socialist in a state like Florida, where there are a lot of, let&#8217;s say, Cuban refugees, is not necessarily the smartest idea. The Democratic Party and those Democratic voters – essentially, probably, taking this race off the board come November.”

Socialist Senate Nominee Called Charlie Kirk Supporters Tools ‘Of White Supremacy’

2026 elections

Ashley Moody

Charlie Kirk

charlie kirk assasination

Erika Kirk

Midterms

Poltiics

Socialism

TPUSA

A major polling aggregator announced Thursday that it has permanently barred data from political survey firm, The Public Sentiment Institute (TPSI), following allegations that the group altered survey responses and concealed its financial ties to Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-lie-the-groypers">James Fishback</a>.
The allegations come just a week after a fake polling firm, Median Strategies, admitted it disseminated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-fraud-pollster-who-boosted-socialist-with-fake-stats">fraudulent polling figures</a> to test how unverified political data spreads across social media.
“We are permanently removing from our website all polls released by The Public Sentiment Institute, after the company admitted it fabricated vote-choice data for select respondents,&#8221; FiftyPlusOne <a href="https://blog.fiftyplusone.news/p/suspending-two-pollsters-data-falsification-undisclosed-partisan-work">wrote</a>. &#8220;This fabrication appears to have boosted the poll numbers of the political candidate that paid TPSI for polling services.”
A final poll from TPSI released just before the election showed Fishback in second place, just behind Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). Fishback came in third place in the primary, securing just over 10% of the vote and falling far behind Donalds at 48% and Lt. Governor Jay Collins at 25%.
“Late last week, FiftyPlusOne received a tip that TPSI had allegedly published campaign internals for the James Fishback campaign without disclosing that those polls were funded by a candidate. This is in explicit violation of our ethical standards for pollsters,” FiftyPlusOne added.
Fishback&#8217;s campaign paid TPSI $1,575 on June 9 under the memo &#8220;Polling/survey,&#8221; according to FiftyPlusOne. The group then released polls on June 10, June 30, and August 13 with no note on how it was funded by the Fishback campaign. In its August 13 poll, TPSI included the statement, &#8220;This survey was designed, funded, and conducted by The Public Sentiment Institute. No candidate, campaign, party committee or outside organization sponsored, commissioned or paid for this research.&#8221;
The June 10 <a href="https://archive.ph/9og7R">poll</a> showed Fishback in second place at 27%, and the June 30 <a href="https://archive.ph/8vRnT">poll</a> showed Fishback rapidly gaining ground and tying Donalds for first place at 32%. In its final <a href="https://archive.ph/Td8Ko">poll</a> before the election, TPSI showed Fishback at 29%, just five percentage points behind the first-place Donalds.
<div>
After the primary election, TPSI released an accuracy review taking responsibility for omitting its funding source, but it strongly denied manipulating or fabricating raw data. The pollster claimed that its usual methodology accurately matched the final primary results within a small margin of error. But analysts altered the last forecast by using an experimental modeling framework called the &#8220;Coalition Expectation Overlay.&#8221; They assumed their panel was undercounting younger voters and suspected an issue with voters backing Collins.
</div>
<div>
Austin Park, the co-founder and head of research at VoteHub, pointed out, “The American Association for Public Opinion Research just released a statement on fabricated polling following the Median Strategies issue. Disappointing to see TPSI effectively fabricate their data as well. TPSI has been excluded in VoteHub averages for several months already.”
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The American Association for Public Opinion Research just released a statement on fabricated polling following the Median Strategies issue. Disappointing to see TPSI effectively fabricate their data as well.
TPSI has been excluded in VoteHub averages for several months already. <a href="https://t.co/HGTbZDbx66">https://t.co/HGTbZDbx66</a>
&mdash; Austin Park (@austinjpark) <a href="https://x.com/austinjpark/status/2090189519085850664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div>
FiftyPlusOne also placed data from Patriot Polling on temporary suspension because of concerns over undisclosed campaign sponsorships in the same primary.
</div>

US-NEWS-FLAGOV-FISHBACK-OS

Pollster Funded By James Fishback Accused Of Manipulating Data Before Blowout Loss

Election

James Fishback

Polls

Florida students are heading back to school this year with a new addition to their history curriculum: a comprehensive study of communism, including its history, domestic movements, and the atrocities committed by communist regimes.
The new standards are the culmination of a five-year effort by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers to expand civics education and ensure students learn about the dangers of totalitarian ideologies.
The effort began in 2021, when DeSantis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-signs-law-requiring-students-to-learn-evils-of-communism-real-patriots-who-escaped-it">signed a package</a> of legislation overhauling civics education in Florida. One of those measures required high school students to receive instruction comparing political ideologies such as communism and totalitarianism with the principles of freedom and democracy underlying the American founding. The legislation also created the state&#8217;s “Portraits in Patriotism” initiative, which uses the stories of people who fled persecution in countries including Cuba and Venezuela to teach students about the value of American liberty.
In 2022, DeSantis signed legislation <a href="https://www.fox13news.com/news/desantis-signs-law-requiring-lessons-on-victims-of-commmunism-in-florida-schools">establishing</a> Victims of Communism Day in Florida. Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, public schools were required to provide at least 45 minutes of instruction addressing communist regimes and the suffering of their victims, including poverty, starvation, migration, political violence, and the suppression of speech and religion.
Then, in 2024, DeSantis signed <a href="https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2024/governor-desantis-signs-legislation-further-enhancing-floridas-education-standards">Senate Bill 1264</a>, expanding the state&#8217;s existing requirements to include the history of communism in the United States, domestic communist movements and their tactics, as well as the atrocities committed by communist regimes around the world. 
“We’re going to tell the truth about communism in the state of Florida. We’re going to tell the truth about the evils of communism,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.fox13news.com/news/desantis-signs-bill-requiring-communism-education-courses-in-florida-public-schools">said</a> when signing the legislation in 2024.
The State Board of Education <a href="https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/state-board-of-education-approves-new-history-of-communism-standards-.stml">approved</a> the resulting History of Communism standards in November 2025, with implementation beginning during the 2026-27 school year. The standards are designed to extend across the K-12 curriculum, with the state emphasizing that instruction will be age-appropriate at each grade level. Then-Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said at the time, “With the resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world, it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes.&#8221;
The curriculum will cover more than the familiar history of the Soviet Union. It includes communism&#8217;s development in the United States, domestic communist movements, the tactics used by communist organizations, and the consequences of communist rule internationally. It also requires students to compare communism and totalitarianism with the principles of freedom and democracy that underpin the American system of government. 
The reforms have particular resonance in South Florida, where generations of Cuban, Venezuelan, and Nicaraguan immigrants have personal or family histories of fleeing communist and socialist regimes. When DeSantis signed the 2024 legislation, he was joined by veterans of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. 
“The most important fight against communism is the one that’s done in the schoolrooms,” Rafael Montalvo, president of the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association, said at the time. “That’s where the battle is happening right now.” 
Florida&#8217;s effort represents a sustained attempt to make anti-communism and civic literacy a formal part of public education rather than leaving those lessons to individual teachers or schools.
As students return to classrooms for the 2026-27 school year, the reforms that began with DeSantis&#8217; 2021 civics push are finally becoming a regular part of what Florida students are taught about America&#8217;s founding principles — and the ideologies that have historically opposed them.

US-NEWS-FLA-EDUCATION-BILLS-2-MI

Reading, Writing, Communism: Inside New Curriculum Teaching Kids About Evil

Communism

Cuba

Department of Education

DeSantis

Education

Elementary Schools

Fidel Castro

High School

K-12

Middle School

Ron DeSantis

Venezuela

TAMPA, FLORIDA — “Yeah, I have feelings about that flag over there,” the young campaign volunteer said to me.
He gestured toward the white and blue Star of David banner perched above the front of the sanctuary of Turning Point Church of God in Clewiston, Florida, where it hung a mere 20 feet from the ‘Fishback for Florida’ lectern. Somehow, despite the proximity, neither the sign nor the Israeli flag had burst into flame.
Sitting in the front row of the church, we were chatting about politics and the movement he had joined. Up until that point, not one attendee at James Fishback’s “closing argument” speech on the eve of the election had brought up Israel, or the Jews, without me raising it.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1161793" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1161793" class="wp-image-1161793 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Israel-Fla.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Israel-Fla.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Israel-Fla-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Israel-Fla-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Israel-Fla-1536x1152.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" />Credit Dylan Housman</div>
“Israel is a broken record, though. We’ve made our point, it’s time to talk about other things,&#8221; the volunteer dismissively said to me, explaining that everyone who cared deeply about that hot button had already decided which camp they were in.
There were just over a hundred people there — good turnout for Clewiston, a rural town of just over 7,000 people about an hour and a half from Fort Lauderdale. I had flown to Orlando, and then made the nearly three-hour drive to Hendry County, to see for myself what the “groyper” movement — we’ll shorthand them as followers of Nick Fuentes and his “America First” faction — looked like in real life.
There have been other groyper-inspired candidates for public office, but Fishback is perhaps this new creature in its purest form. He launched his campaign with inflammatory Twitter tirades about Israel and AIPAC, he secured endorsements from both Tucker Carlson and Fuentes, he frequently lobbed racist attacks against his opponent Byron Donalds. But the critical difference from other groyper grifters was the act of running a real campaign. He made dozens of stops in the closing days of the campaign alone, had a strong digital operation, an organized group of real volunteers, and is a gifted communicator when he isn’t triggered into <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/208610/republican-candidate-fishback-black-man-lynched">telling a black voter they should be lynched</a>.
What he lacked in fundraising he made up for in an army of young men shitposting their way into social media semi-relevance. The ancient Vulcan proverb tells us Twitter is not real life. I wanted to put that to the test, and not just by reading a vote tally from my office in D.C.
The volunteer next to me said his main priorities were “family values” and affordability. In his early 20s, he was about to enter college, and said he had learned about Fishback via Instagram. I asked what his media diet was. He said he listened to Fuentes and Carlson, but since he liked to hear all sides, he sprinkled in the streamer Destiny — a professional StarCraft player turned political commentator. We laughed at the career move.
Two other young men sat by me in jeans and ballcaps, sparking memories of my cousins from rural South Carolina. They didn’t have anything to say about Israel or the Jews either. Their concerns were Flock cameras, data centers, and reclaiming “the Florida I grew up in.”
The event, hosted by senior pastor Troy Ezell, opened with a group prayer before Fishback finally took the stage and spoke for roughly an hour. I had seen Fishback earlier in the parking lot when I arrived, looking somewhat distracted from afar. But he performed well on stage. It was a speech that the vast majority of Americans on the right could cheer for — small town Florida, the American dream, citrus, cattle, and sugar.
“The real test of the economy is if a 30-year-old can get married and buy a home,” he said, which made a lot of sense to me as a renting 28-year-old getting married next year. He touted affordability, DOGEing Florida, banning abortion, and clamping down on migrant workers taking people’s jobs.
Perhaps most shocking was a positive reference to Ronald Reagan, who is broadly loathed as a false boomer idol by the young far-right, and his &#8220;I&#8217;m from the government and I&#8217;m here to help&#8221; line.
There was one mention of AIPAC, which was put side by side with CAIR, in the entire speech. There was one veiled reference to Israel in a section about foreign aid, and that was it. Some groyper.
After the speech ended, Fishback approached me. He struck me as quite slender in person, wearing a black suit with round-framed glasses that gave the 31-year-old a more boyish appearance. He was cordial, and greeted me warmly, if skeptically: &#8220;You&#8217;re from the Daily Wire?&#8221;
I asked him why he was talking about Israel and AIPAC less now than at the start of his campaign. He had tweeted about Israel 22 times in the month of March alone, but only three times in the final month before election day. He seemed increasingly reticent to play the hits that made him vertical video famous.
He rejected the premise. He promised he still planned to divest from Israel if he became governor, but also implied that it wasn&#8217;t forefront in his supporters&#8217; minds: “This campaign is about the issues that matter to Floridians. I am still bothered by the fact that the Florida State Pension Fund lends the Israeli government $385 million a year, but the closing argument of this campaign is about the insurance crisis in our state, education, the development choices that we’re making, but I still stand by the fact that I think we need to divest from any foreign governments.”
I wondered if I had gotten my priors wrong. The people I had met were, by and large, not groypers. The speech was cookie-cutter populist. I came to Florida expecting the Mos Eisley cantina, not bespectacled blather. But I was reminded that I was dealing with the Jim Bakker of Right-wing politics.
During his speech, Fishback said it “wasn’t personal” with Byron Donalds, whom he had falsely accused of being under federal investigation for sex-trafficking two weeks prior. I asked how the repeated racist attacks and inflammatory social media conduct could be anything but personal.
“My wife and I trade jokes and jabs together, it’s nothing personal between she and I. I have tremendous respect for Congressman Donalds … I wish them all the best.”
It had only been a month since he publicly asked why Donalds’ father “never calls” in a post about black parenthood. It had only been three months since Fishback&#8217;s <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/p/james-fishback-florida-governor-candidate-very-weird-groyper-wedding">curious wedding to his mystery wife</a>, but he was more than happy to invoke her on the campaign trail.
As soon as my interview with Fishback ended, an outside advisor to the campaign approached me and said “the Israel stuff is dead.” When I asked what he meant, he explained he had been helping Fishback during the home stretch of the campaign and advised him to soften his rhetoric on Israel and Jews, because it was wrong to “attack a group of people.”
The advisor explained that he himself is a devout supporter of Israel for theological reasons, and he wouldn&#8217;t back any candidate who was anti-Israel. He said Fishback had been “taken out of context” earlier in the campaign, and that in reality, the candidate wasn&#8217;t particularly anti-Israel at all, much less antisemitic.
It was hard for me to square that with the candidate who had referred to kids’ cafeteria meals as “goyslop” on the campaign trail. But it was a common theme. When I spoke to Rev. Ezell, who was introduced to Fishback by his Gen Z son, he said he wanted a candidate who would “shake things up.” That he cared about immigration, data centers, and taxes. He liked Trump, and really liked Ron DeSantis, but Donalds was too much of a politician for him. I asked about Israel, and he too said he was supportive of the Jewish state, and seemed either unbothered or unaware of Fishback’s rhetoric about it.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1161795" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1161795" class="wp-image-1161795 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Turning-Point-Church.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Turning-Point-Church.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Turning-Point-Church-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Turning-Point-Church-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Turning-Point-Church-1536x1152.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" />Credit: Dylan Housman</div>
I began to wonder if the groypers had simply not survived contact with reality. Perhaps the necessities of primary politics had swept them aside as a vulnerability for a candidate who actually wanted to win instead of get nutpicked by the Daily Beast. Perhaps they really were all humble Pakistani bot farmers after all.
Actually, no. The next night, I was in Tampa at the airport Hilton for the Fishback election night party. There weren’t any signs or staff there to direct me where to go. I wandered deep into the bowels of the hotel, following scattered 20-somethings in suits and dresses like a trail of breadcrumbs through the Backrooms until I found the ballroom where the gathering was taking place.
There were a couple of staffers at a table that seemed to be checking people in. I had no credentials to speak of, so I simply walked past them. I spotted a bar cart and got into line for a beverage before I would start working the room. It turned out to be a cash bar. I was devastated.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1161797" style="width: 1546px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1161797" class="wp-image-1161797 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1.jpg" alt="" width="1536" height="2048" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1-432x576.jpg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Fishback-Rally-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w" sizes=" (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" />Credit Dylan Housman</div>
I took my whiskey neat and began talking to the kids around me. A 16-year-old black girl who had phonebanked for the campaign said she was Christian and liked Fishback&#8217;s pro-life social media presence.
I asked if she thought he was racist.
“We all have our moments, but I don’t think he would talk to me so nicely if he were really racist,” she said.
Without realizing it, I had blasted back in time. The room had all the awkwardly sincere vibes of the Young Americans for Liberty and CPAC conferences I had attended as a college student a decade ago. Out of the 250 or so attendees there, the vast majority were under 30, and half would need their ID scanned if they wandered skittishly down to the hotel bar. Just like our graybeard forebears with the Ron Paul Revolution, most of these kids seemed to know Fishback wasn’t going to win. But they were sure the future would be “America First” in due course.
Here, there was more interest in Israel. Notably, it disproportionately came from kids who I had talked to from out of state, not the Floridians themselves. A cadre of true believers had made a pilgrimage to see their leader on his campaign&#8217;s night of nights. Their Mecca was the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore.
Fuentes often stresses to his followers the importance of “hiding your power level,” and unlike the Clewiston event, I suspect I encountered this on election night. The young crowd did not seem particularly politically sophisticated, and yet they were savvy in a Gen Z, digital native type of way. One young man I spoke to very cordially asked me multiple times if I was recording (I was not), and kept glancing down at my hands until he settled into the conversation. He was no fan of Israel, but he also decried Islam and &#8220;third-world Duginism&#8221; while totally rejecting any notion of alliance with the far-Left, an idea bandied about by a number of podcasters in this world.
Fishback eventually spoke to the crowd that night, for a much shorter period of time. He conceded his loss, but said the movement he champions is just beginning. Unlike at Turning Point Church, the shots at AIPAC came earlier and more often this time around. The crowd erupted into a chant of “Christ is King.”
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;">
<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 400px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/MALiMV8tCt95qDWbxK02wzY6BesNqoq4c?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=ee94acfb-a853-42e9-8b3e-f69293822b6e&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Christ%20Is%20King%20Chant%20Fishback%20Rally&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2F92023a27-7bcb-4d3d-aa1a-d365758fc518.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Credit: Dylan Housman
</div>
It was around this moment, with Fishback netting just over 10% of the vote for a third-place showing, that I realized the groypers had survived contact with literal reality, but not political reality. They are like youngsters of the past voting independent in the 2016 election, palling around with the other kids at the libertarian club in college, having late-night discussions about how war and tariffs were bad, energized by every little bit of confirmation bias we could find that the movement was going “our way,” just not quite yet. I know this because I was one of those. But even for all that talk, there was the underlying feeling that the movement was not, in fact, going our way. And once we were hit with political reality, most of us grew up and moved on.
&#8220;The online thing is real in the sense that it&#8217;s loud,&#8221; Polk County GOP Chairman Sam Romain told me the next morning. &#8220;It&#8217;s just not attached to anything. It doesn&#8217;t produce a volunteer, it doesn&#8217;t produce a check that clears, and it definitely doesn&#8217;t produce a grandmother in Lake Wales who marks your name.&#8221;
Yes, there is a darker element to this generation of starry-eyed radical Right-wing youths. Our discussions of free trade and gun rights did not have the vile implications that the &#8220;Jewish Question&#8221; does. But the overall arc looks the same. Just like most of us Gary Johnson voters at the YAL conference ended up becoming conservatives once he crashed and burned, I imagine most of these kids will have their sharp edges whittled down by institutional conservatism as they are increasingly exposed to Big Boy Politics.
That&#8217;s not to say that some of the ideas may not last. But the dumbest, most extreme ones likely won&#8217;t, and the <a href="https://www.richardhanania.com/p/the-based-ritual">Based Rituals</a> in hotel lobbies at conferences will get replaced by 9-5 jobs and pragmatism in due course.
Fishback’s strength is his smooth-talking, chameleon-like charisma. He was anything to anybody during his campaign. A pro-life warrior to the young Christian girl, a God-fearing warrior for old Florida to the pastor, an anti-data center protector of farmland to the young blue-collar laborers, and a truth-teller about Jewish power to the antisemitic podcast listeners. The incongruence is a product of our evermore-siloed media environment.
Like Bakker, the televangelist superstar who was undone by allegations of sexual misconduct and a financial fraud conviction, the charm Fishback has in spades is undone by his erraticism. Just two years ago he was making staunchly <a href="https://x.com/ianmiles/status/2023202273678233659">pro-Israel arguments</a> against liberals and writing for the Free Press. Then he tried to grift his way onto DOGE and <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/floating-challenge-trumps-florida-governor-pick-james-fishback-127603333">join arms with the likes of Vivek Ramaswamy</a>. This year, he ran a campaign targeting Jews and Indian immigrants.
He is an empty vessel who will say or do whatever the whims of the moment call for. Pulling that off if you’re disciplined with a clean record can make you a president. Doing it when you are facing lawsuits, have unpaid legal bills, lied about working for DOGE, were credibly accused of dating a 17-year-old, and hurl racial epithets at your opponents by the dozen gets you 10% of the vote in a gubernatorial primary.
And probably a podcast on Rumble, too.
&nbsp;
Dylan Housman is the Managing Editor of the Daily Wire. <a href="https://x.com/Dylan_Housman">You can follow him on X here. </a>

Here Lie The Groypers

antisemitism

Byron Donalds

Groypers

Israel

Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), scored a major upset Tuesday night by defeating former Trump impeachment witness Alex Vindman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Nixon, a leftist firebrand from Jacksonville, will face Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in November to determine who will serve the final two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate term.
The upset is a major victory for the Democratic Party’s Left-wing — and potentially a major boost for Republicans in a state President Donald Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Vindman vastly outraised Nixon during the primary, bringing in roughly $16.3 million compared to Nixon’s $975,000. Nixon instead relied heavily on grassroots organizing, unions and left-wing activists.
Nixon joined the DSA in June and is also a member of the Working Families Party and the Service Employees International Union. She received <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6036787-nixon-vindman-peltola-primaries/">endorsements</a> from far-Left lawmakers including Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Her victory marks the first time a self-avowed democratic socialist has won a Democratic Senate or gubernatorial primary this cycle. The socialist upset comes two weeks after Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed squeaked out a narrow victory over the establishment-backed candidate in his own Democratic primary. While El-Sayed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/battle-for-future-of-democratic-party-rages-in-key-senate-primary-c98e5e49?mod=article_inline">has said</a> he is “not technically or practically DSA” — he ran as a leftist, aligned with the party’s democratic socialist wing, and received campaign support from prominent socialists including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
President Donald Trump also weighed in on the upset Tuesday night, celebrating Nixon’s victory while taking a swipe at her defeated opponent, former White House national security official Alexander Vindman. “SleazeBag Vindman loses tonight to a Radical Left Lunatic. How cool is that???” Trump wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117119603749653762">Truth Social</a>.
Vindman became a prominent figure during Trump’s first impeachment after testifying before Congress about a 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman, who was serving as a National Security Council aide at the time, testified that Trump had pressured Zelensky to look into his political rivals, including the Biden family.
Trump was ultimately acquitted by the Senate, and he fired Vindman from the National Security Council in February 2020. Vindman then sued, alleging that the firing was retaliatory and an intimidation tactic.
Election analysts already viewed Florida as a difficult state for Democrats, with Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics saying Sabato’s Crystal Ball <a href="https://x.com/kkondik/status/2089865578282369064">would move</a> the Senate race from “likely Republican” to “safe Republican&#8221; after Nixon&#8217;s upset victory.
Moody, who was appointed to the Senate last year after Rubio became secretary of state, easily won the Republican primary and will now face Nixon in November.

Socialist Scores Major Upset, Stuns Trump Impeachment Witness In Senate Primary

2026 primaries

Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialists

Democratic Socialists Of America

Senate GOP

A Florida businessman won a chaotic Republican House primary that featured a former Trump adviser, two former congressmen from different states, and a January 6 defendant. 
Media mogul Jim Schwartzel defeated nine other candidates to win the GOP nomination to replace Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida’s 19th Congressional District on Tuesday. Schwartzel defeated the Trump-endorsed Catalina Lauf, earning 29% of the vote to the former Commerce Department adviser’s 22%. 
Other candidates in the race included former Illinois state Senator Jim Oberweis, former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, former New York Rep. Chris Collins, and January 6 defendant John Strand. The seat opened up after Donalds decided to run for governor. 
President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117090504981894603">endorsed</a> Lauf last week, saying she “has proven she has the Courage and Wisdom to deliver strong results for the incredible people of her State and Nation.” Before her run for Donald&#8217;s seat, Lauf ran for Congress in Illinois twice, including once in the Republican primary against Oberweis.
Cawthorn represented North Carolina&#8217;s 11th district in Congress from 2021 to 2023, and he made national headlines for saying he was invited to cocaine-fueled orgies by fellow lawmakers. He lost in the GOP primary to Rep. Chuck Edwards, who recently announced he would not be running for re-election after the House Ethics Committee found evidence he treated female staffers inappropriately. 
Two of the other candidates in the Florida race previously received pardons from Trump. 
Collins, who represented New York in Congress from 2013 to 2019, was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-congressman-christopher-collins-sentenced-insider-trading-scheme-and-lying">convicted</a> of insider trading and lying to the FBI. He was sentenced to 26 months in prison, but was pardoned by Trump about two months into his prison sentence. 
Strand, who was sentenced to over two years in prison for protesting inside the Capitol on January 6, was pardoned shortly after Trump’s second term began. 
Many of Schwartzel&#8217;s campaign ads in the days leading up to the race focused on how the other candidates were recent transplants to Florida.
Schwartzel, who owns and operates a large conservative radio channel in Florida and runs publishing company Gulfshore Life Media, ran a pro-Trump campaign on a platform of fighting for term limits, protecting Florida&#8217;s water supply, and opposing DEI and transgender ideology. 
“Southwest Florida sent a clear message: this congressional seat belongs to Southwest Florida. We had a hard-fought, spirited primary but now it is time to unite our party and turn our focus to November and beyond. I am ready to get to work supporting President Trump and his America First agenda and delivering results for Southwest Florida,” Schwartzel said after his win. “This is my home. It always has been and it always will be. I will never forget who I represent or why I ran.”
He is expected to easily win the heavily Republican favorable seat.

MixCollage-19-Aug-2026-08-53-AM-93

Businessman Defeats 2 Felons, A Trump Endorsee, And Madison Cawthorn For GOP House Nomination

Congress

Donald Trump

Illinois

Madison Cawthorn

New York

Trump-backed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) won the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, clearing the way for a general election showdown to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) after a contentious primary that tested the future of Florida’s conservative movement.
With 90% of the vote counted, Donalds is cruising to victory with about 48%, well ahead of Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R-FL) at 25% and businessman James Fishback (R-FL) at 10%. <a href="https://votes.decisiondeskhq.com/races/2026-08-18/florida-governor-republican-primary">Decision Desk HQ</a> called the race at 8 p.m. ET.
&#8220;I want to start by thanking God for all His blessings and protection over my family, and over my team,” Donalds said in a Tuesday night celebration speech. &#8220;Tonight, the primary is over. Tonight, we put aside our differences. Tonight, we are one united Republican Party.&#8221;
Donalds, like Trump, was born in New York City but has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District — which covers Southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast — in Washington since 2021. Widely viewed as a rising star in the Republican Party, Donalds was even floated as a potential vice presidential pick during the 2024 election cycle, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/byron-donalds-on-vp-buzz-im-a-real-simple-dude-i-just-want-to-win">The Daily Wire</a> reported. 
“It’d be a great honor, but it’s his decision,” Donalds said in a Nashville interview with The Daily Wire at the time. “He’ll decide what he wants to do, and whatever his decision is, I’m going to support that. I just want to win,” he added. “I’m a real simple dude. I just want to win and be successful. That’s it.”
That attitude appeared to win over Trump, who jumped into the race in May, endorsing Donalds as a “highly respected” congressman who would help advance the “America First Agenda.”
“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116642799421262985">said</a> on Truth Social. “Byron Donalds will be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” 
On the campaign trail, Donalds<a href="https://byrondonalds.com/issues/"> ran</a> on advancing President Trump’s agenda, cracking down on illegal immigration, ending “woke ideology” in schools, and calling for an<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR4qqMWegVs"> end</a> to Cuba’s communist regime in an effort to win over Florida’s large Latino electorate. 
The former Democrat has also spoken openly about his born-again Christian conversion, which he says happened in a<a href="https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2025/09/08/byron-donalds-cracker-barrel-parking-lot"> Cracker Barrel</a> parking lot. As a young man, Donalds faced charges at 18 for marijuana possession and again at 20 in connection with a bank fraud scheme involving a bad check. The marijuana charge was dismissed after Donalds completed a pretrial diversion program, and he later had the fraud record sealed and expunged.
Fishback, who has himself faced questions over <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/florida-school-gop-james-fishback-sexual-misconduct-allegations-rcna249963">sexual misconduct allegations</a>, <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/811578-judge-orders-james-fishback-to-pay-his-former-hedge-fund-employer-1-3m/">financial disputes</a>, and <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/politics/decision/james-fishback-stays-on-ballot-florida-governors-race-residency-claims/3839164/">residency requirements</a>, sought to capitalize on Donalds’ past but faced backlash after calling the GOP front-runner a “DEI hire” and a <a href="https://x.com/Patriot_Clips/status/2075663909227253891?s=20">“slave”</a> to corporate interests.
“I will apologize for calling Byron Donalds a slave when he gives back the $81 million he has taken from AIPAC, hedge-fund billionaires, and special interests who are trying to pave over the state and turn us into a concrete jungle,” Fishback <a href="https://x.com/Patriot_Clips/status/2075663909227253891?s=20">told</a> reporters. 
The 31-year-old, who is closely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vtjidiZRTg">aligned with Tucker Carlson</a>, ran a headline-grabbing, grievance-filled campaign built around issues he believed would resonate with the Gen Z right, including banning data centers, suspending aid to Israel, implementing a “sin” tax on OnlyFans, and ending what he called the H-1B visa &#8220;scam.&#8221;
DeSantis, barred from seeking a third term, largely stayed on the sidelines as the primary unfolded. He praised former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner while withholding an endorsement and took a pointed swipe at Donalds last year.
“We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/elections/desantis-endorse-governor-candidates-florida-2026/67-d41d3df8-f85c-44e5-bbbc-82067c738590">said</a> during a press conference last year. “A guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the Left over these last years.”
Donalds and DeSantis were once close allies, but their relationship fractured in 2023 after Donalds broke with the governor over controversial education standards. The standards said enslaved people developed skills that could later be “applied for their personal benefit,” according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/byron-donalds-donald-trump-florida-governor-desantis-7cf12bdb0899d0165c4cbd98e5b3abe3#">Associated Press</a>. 
Donalds pushed back publicly at the time, writing on social media: “The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, &amp; accurate. That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong &amp; needs to be adjusted.”
Looking ahead, Donalds said <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/814808-byron-donalds-still-expects-ron-desantis-to-back-him-after-primary/">he expects</a> to earn the governor’s support as he prepares to carry the DeSantis legacy forward. Donalds has vowed to continue Florida’s fight against “woke” ideology in schools and state government. 
Under DeSantis, Florida has become a national battleground over culture-war fights, including DEI, abortion, and transgender issues. The state recently scored a major legal victory in its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/three-year-culture-war-fight-ends-with-major-win-for-desantis?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=35&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Three-Year+Culture+War+Fight+Ends+With+Major+Win+For+DeSantis">three-year fight</a> over a law restricting minors from attending sexually explicit live performances, including drag shows.
November&#8217;s election will effectively mark the end of the DeSantis era, which transformed Florida from a purple swing state into a ruby-red bastion for conservatives nationwide. Florida’s Republican advantage has grown dramatically in recent years, holding a roughly <a href="https://dos.fl.gov/elections/data-statistics/voter-registration-statistics/voter-registration-reports/voter-registration-by-party-affiliation/?lv=true&amp;quot=&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com">1.5 million-voter registration edge</a> over Democrats. To win statewide, the Democrats would need to overcome the GOP’s registration lead by winning back Hispanics and persuading a large bloc of conservative-leaning voters who have backed Republicans in statewide elections.
This fall, Donalds will face Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat who wants to repeal Florida’s abortion ban and is leaning into identity politics. 
“Culture wars divide and demonize. Florida should reject the politics of division and hate, and instead create a home where everyone is valued, respected, and welcomed,” Jolly’s <a href="https://davidjolly.com/issues/">campaign website</a> reads. “Florida should embrace our immigrant community and celebrate their contributions to our state&#8217;s culture and economy.”
The <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/governor/race/479481">Cook Political Report</a> rates the race as Solid Republican.

Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Byron Donalds Campaigns Ahead Of Primary Election

Byron Donalds Cruises To Victory In Fight To Succeed DeSantis As Florida Governor

Elections

endorsements

President Trump

Republicans

Ryan Elijah emerged victorious Tuesday in the Republican primary for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, as a series of controversies sinks incumbent Cory Mills’ attempt at re-election.
Mills, a two-term incumbent, faced Elijah, a former television journalist; businesswoman Sarah Ulrich; and veteran Michael Don Johnson in the GOP primary. With roughly 84% of the vote reported, Elijah led with 46.9% of the vote, followed by Mills with 34.4%, according to preliminary results. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 7:53 p.m. ET.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Decision Desk HQ projects Ryan Elijah wins the Florida US House 7 Republican Primary<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/DecisionMade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DecisionMade</a>: 7:53 PM EDT <a href="https://t.co/TvJjVyAgSK">pic.twitter.com/TvJjVyAgSK</a>
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) <a href="https://x.com/DecisionDeskHQ/status/2089863894672023980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last November, lawmakers on the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Mills over allegations including possible domestic violence and campaign finance violations. The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-backed-congressman-faces-new-doj-probe">opened</a> a criminal probe into Mills last month in connection with his finances. Mills has denied the allegations and argued that they are politically motivated.
The incumbent also faced significant opposition from within his own party. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/08/05/congress/2-florida-republicans-endorse-mills-opponent-in-primary-01025306">endorsed Elijah</a>, while several Florida sheriffs also backed Elijah&#8217;s campaign. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/14/florida-desantis-mills-house-support-01038128">said</a> last week that he did not support Mills.
Mills nevertheless entered the primary with President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/12/florida-mills-republican-primary-trump-01035412">endorsement</a>, which the president handed to him in February. Trump’s support came despite the controversies surrounding Mills, although the president did not publicly campaign for him in the final days of the primary.
Mills has defended his record in Congress, pointing to his constituent services and high-profile efforts to evacuate Americans from conflict zones including Afghanistan, Israel, and Haiti. His campaign also highlighted more than $100 million in constituent assistance secured through his congressional office.
Elijah campaigned heavily on the allegations against Mills and received endorsements from several prominent Florida Republicans. Johnson, who previously challenged Mills, also made Mills’ controversies a central focus of his campaign, while Ulrich ran as a socially conservative alternative.
Elijah will now face Democratic nominee Bale Dalton in November. Democrats have identified the district as a potential pickup opportunity, although the heavily Republican seat remains expected to favor the GOP.

Cory Mills

Scandals Sink Trump-Backed Congressman In Florida GOP Primary

Election Results

Endorsement

Primary

Primary Election

Republican Primary

Michael Caruso, the Palm Beach County clerk of courts and former Republican Florida state representative, was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he sexually abused his grandson, a child under the age of 12.
The arrest carries a dark political irony: Caruso was one of the Florida lawmakers who voted for a 2023 law making certain sexual offenses against children under 12 eligible for the death penalty. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has indicated additional charges could follow.
Caruso, 67, faces charges of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse causing mental injury, according to an <a href="https://www.flgov.com/eog/sites/default/files/shared/2026/08/EO_26-170_Caruso_Suspension_0.pdf">arrest affidavit</a>. The alleged victim, Caruso&#8217;s grandson, was under 12 at the time of the alleged abuse. Caruso has not been charged with sexual battery, which can be a capital offense under Florida law when committed by an adult against a child under 12. Florida law defines sexual battery to include certain forms of oral, anal, or genital penetration.
Caruso served in the Florida House from 2018 until 2025 and was appointed Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year. DeSantis suspended him from office Tuesday following his arrest, with Shannon Ramsey-Chessman sworn in as interim clerk.
The allegations against Caruso date back to 2024, according to investigators. The boy&#8217;s father became aware of possible abuse in October 2025 after observing concerning sexual behavior involving the child and his younger brother. The child subsequently told investigators that Caruso had molested him during a 2024 fishing trip and &#8220;placed his &#8216;pp&#8217; in his mouth&#8221; while showering with the victim on a family cruise in August 2025. The alleged conduct described by the child could fall within Florida&#8217;s statutory definition of sexual battery, though Caruso has not been charged with that offense.
According to the affidavit, Caruso later acknowledged taking the child fishing and separating him from his parents during the cruise but denied abusing him. During a recorded conversation with the boy&#8217;s father in February, Caruso allegedly said the accusations were impossible because he is attracted to women and warned, “If you report this to the authorities there won&#8217;t be any of me left, I can tell you that.” The investigation remains ongoing.
The arrest comes three years after Caruso voted for HB 1297, legislation <a href="https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2023/governor-ron-desantis-signs-third-consecutive-anti-crime-pro-public-safety">signed</a> by DeSantis in 2023 that created a capital offense for an adult who commits sexual battery against a child under 12. Under the law, such an offense can be punished by either death or life imprisonment. Caruso&#8217;s current charges include lewd or lascivious molestation, which is a separate offense under Florida law. 
Florida lawmakers approved the legislation by votes of 95-14 in the House and 34-5 in the Senate. The law was part of DeSantis&#8217; broader 2023 public-safety agenda and was explicitly designed to make certain child sex offenders eligible for capital punishment. 
Caruso&#8217;s case will now proceed in Orange County, where the alleged victim lives. He is being held without bond pending his first court appearance.

Menu