Sanders made a rare trip to Florida to support progressive Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon with his “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across a state that’s long been a low-tax oasis for billionaires.

The 85-year-old senator from Vermont traveled to Tampa and later Melbourne on the Atlantic coast on Saturday, drawing crowds of thousands ahead of planned stops in Gainesville and Tallahassee on Sunday. Nixon, who pulled off a surprise landslide victory in the Democratic primary, is trying to unseat US Senator Ashley Moody, a Republican who’s been endorsed by President Donald Trump and outgoing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“If you and when you elect Angie Nixon to the United States Senate, you will have sparked a revolution that’s going to transform this country,” Sanders said in Melbourne, a coastal town in Brevard County, where Trump won by more than 20 points in 2024. “You have the opportunity now, quite literally, to change the course of American history.”Nixon, a state representative, is fighting an uphill battle against a better-funded rival in a state where Trump won handily in 2024.

She’s relying on a grassroots campaign with thousands of volunteers, leveraging media and town halls to promote a platform calling for Medicare and childcare for all, higher minimum wages and a wealth tax for billionaires to fund such programs.

“I believe that if you work hard in this country, you should be able to live in this country — no one should just barely survive,” Nixon told the crowd. “You should be able to pay your rent, to buy your groceries, to put gas in your car, take your family out to dinner every now and then, and maybe, just maybe put a little money away for a rainy day.”A crowd — which Sanders estimated at 1,800 people — filled a hotel parking lot in Melbourne, holding “Tax the Billionaires” and “Freeze the Rent” placards. Sanders said Nixon, if elected, would join other progressives in Congress in proposing policies aimed at helping Americans hobbled by the high cost of living.

The rally was one of hundreds of public appearances Nixon has held across Florida this year, while Moody, who has largely avoided media interviews or specifics on how to address voter angst over affordability. She’s focused more on attacking Nixon for her democratic socialist ties with a blitz of online and TV ads. If elected, Nixon would be the first Black senator representing Florida.

Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June. Most recent polls show she is still trailing Moody though the senate, governor and house races have tightened more than expected this cycle in such a conservative state.

“The choice is going to be freedom versus socialism,” Moody told about 150 supporters at a private club in Weston, Florida, on Friday. “The choice is going to be more money in your pocket or big government taking more and more.”Sanders and Nixon are targeting the ultra rich with proposals like a wealth tax and levies on Wall Street trades in a state that’s worked hard to lure well-heeled transplants. Since the pandemic, some of the worlds richest people have bought homes or moved to Florida, which has no state income tax.

“If believing that the government should work for the people who pay the bills instead of the billionaires who buy the politicians is radical, then call me a radical,” Nixon told the crowd in Melbourne.

Sanders has held scores of rallies across the US since early 2025 to raise money and help progressive candidates.

Florida is one of several states that Republicans swept in 2024 where Democrats are now showing unexpected strength and a Senate win there would be one of the biggest upsets of the US midterm elections.

National progressive and Democratic leaders are committing more time and money in Florida, a state that was largely ignored as unwinnable in 2022 and 2024.

On Friday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries campaigned in Miami for Eliott Rodriguez, who’s in a close race for a seat held by Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Trump-endorsed Republican. Former President Bill Clinton will campaign with Democratic candidate for governor David Jolly next week.

“This is an incredibly winnable seat,” Jeffries said at an event inside a Cuban bakery in Pinecrest, an affluent suburb of Miami.

Nixon, Rodriguez and Jolly are among Democrats who are faring far better than expected in polls, said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor. Across the country, Republicans are being hammered by voter concerns over affordability, gas prices, the war with Iran and other key issues.

In Florida, the inflow of wealthy newcomers has led to big increases in property prices that along with high insurance costs have hit the middle class hard. The state is also set to lose some federal food and healthcare benefits as part of legislation enacted by the Trump administration.

“The overall environment is just bad for Republicans,” McDonald said. “With that environment, we have states like Florida in play.”In a sign of just how topsy turvy the campaign has become, James Fishback, a controversial far-right Republican who lost his primary to Byron Donalds, attended the Melbourne rally. He said that while he disagreed with much of what Nixon and Sanders represented, they had tapped into something and he wanted to see it first hand.

“Everyone here, they all are going to bring four votes with them,” said Fishback, referring to the crowd. “I think we will see a blue tsunami.”