Florida's U.S. Senate Special Election: Moody, Nixon and Gillespie on the November 3 Ballot
Palm Beach County voters will help decide who serves the rest of Marco Rubio's Senate term: appointed Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, or no-party candidate Neil J. Gillespie.
One race on the Nov. 3 ballot is a special election with an unusual history. Florida's U.S. Senate seat changed hands mid-term when Marco Rubio left the Senate in January 2025 to become secretary of state, and Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Ashley Moody to the seat; she was sworn in on Jan. 21, 2025. Tuesday's special election decides who serves the remainder of the term Rubio won in 2022, which runs through January 2029, according to the Florida Division of Elections candidate list compiled in the voter guides read for this file.
Three candidates are on the ballot statewide. Moody, the Republican incumbent, previously served as Florida's attorney general, a Hillsborough County circuit judge and a federal prosecutor. Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee, is a state representative who has served in the Florida House since 2020 and won the Aug. 18 Democratic primary over retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman. Neil J. Gillespie, who qualified with no party affiliation, is the third name on the ballot.
Because it is a statewide race, Palm Beach County — one of Florida's largest electorates — votes in it at every precinct on Tuesday, and early voters are deciding it through Sunday at 7 p.m. The winner takes the seat for the remaining two years of the term rather than a full six-year Senate term, and the seat comes up again in the regular 2028 cycle.
