Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon is facing a wave of criticism over her response to a seemingly straightforward question about whether Cuba is a dictatorship, months after joining the Democratic Socialists of America as she campaigns for statewide office in a state shaped by generations of Cuban exiles.

"You know, that is what people have told me. I have never been to Cuba, and so I will have to take their word for it," Nixon told CBS News when asked directly whether she considers Cuba a dictatorship.

Nixon later pushed back on critics who portrayed her answer as a refusal to acknowledge Cuba's government as a dictatorship, saying she was referring to Cubans she has spoken with who described the country that way and that she believes them.

"It's disappointing to have to say this, but CBS News, this is a serious failure of editorial reporting," Nixon wrote on X in response to the network's initial post about the exchange. "I clearly state in this clip that while I have not personally been to Cuba, I have spoken with Cubans who have described it as a dictatorship, and I believe them," she continued. "To claim I declined to answer the question is categorically false. That is not journalism. It is misinformation."

CBS subsequently deleted its original post, which had characterized Nixon as declining to say whether Cuba is a dictatorship, and reposted the interview with an editor's note acknowledging that the earlier version "did not accurately portray Rep. Nixon's answer." But Nixon's underlying response still drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans.

Among the Democrats criticizing Nixon was Phil Ehr, the party's nominee in Florida's 28th Congressional District, who tied his concerns directly to conversations he said he has had with Cuban-American voters while campaigning in South Florida.

"I can't get past this after spending a week at early voting sites and seeing firsthand how frightened so many Cuban Americans are," Ehr wrote on X alongside a photo from an early-voting site. "People like this woman thanked us for standing up not only against DSA rhetoric, but for their dignity and humanity."

In a separate statement, Ehr called Cuba a "communist dictatorship" and said there was "nothing progressive about making excuses for communist dictatorships." He added that he would "not stand behind Angie Nixon or defend her remarks," declaring, "If the Democratic party is unwilling to condemn them, I will." Ehr was not the only Florida Democrat to object. Elliott Rodriguez, the Democratic nominee in Florida's 27th Congressional District, said that while he and Nixon "agree on many issues," Cuba's status was not among them.

"Cuba being a dictatorship is not a matter of opinion. It is a fact," Rodriguez wrote, pointing to political prisoners, repression and Cubans who have died seeking freedom.

Republicans criticized the exchange as well, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who argued Nixon's answer reflected a broader problem within the Democratic Party.

"Like many of her Democrat colleagues who can't seem to define what a woman is, we now have a candidate for the U.S. Senate who can't define a dictatorship," Scott wrote on Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was similarly blunt, calling Nixon's response "the craziest thing I've ever heard."

"Of COURSE the Castro regime is a dictatorship," Donalds wrote. "It's sad to see what has become of the Democrat Party. They are fully consumed by socialism." The controversy comes months after Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a membership that has previously drawn questions about where she stands on the organization's positions involving Cuba.

In an August interview with CBS Miami, Nixon was asked specifically about DSA's praise of Fidel Castro and distanced herself from the group's position.

"I don't believe he's someone that should be praised," Nixon said, while adding that she does not agree with every position taken by DSA.