Florida Dem Senate candidate Angie Nixon defends taking children to drag shows as ‘wholesome’

Florida’s newly minted Democratic Senate nominee, Angie Nixon, is facing backlash after a clip resurfaced of her defending drag shows as suitable entertainment for children, just days after she pulled off an upset primary win over a better-funded moderate rival.

Ms. Nixon, a self-described Democratic Socialists of America member and state representative from Jacksonville, made the remarks in an interview this month on the podcast “Legal AF,” in which she said she doesn’t understand objections to drag performances.

“There’s no sexualization at a drag show,” she said. “It’s just people dressing up and singing and performing. I’ve taken my children to drag shows, and it’s fun. It’s entertainment. It’s wholesome entertainment. And it’s nothing wrong … I don’t get it.”

The comments began circulating widely after Ms. Nixon’s Tuesday primary win over retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, a Trump impeachment witness who had outspent her roughly $16 million to $1 million but lost by a double-digit margin. Conservative accounts and Republican groups, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, quickly seized on the video, and Sen. Ashley Moody, the Republican incumbent Ms. Nixon will face in November, circulated separate footage of Ms. Nixon shouting into a pink megaphone on the floor of the Florida House.

Ms. Nixon’s remarks come just weeks after a federal appeals court upheld Florida’s 2023 Protection of Children Act, which bars venues from knowingly admitting minors to “adult live performances” that meet the law’s definition of material obscene for minors; the legislation was enacted amid a dispute over children attending some drag performances. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled 8-5 that the law does not violate the First or 14th Amendments, reversing a lower court’s injunction.

“The act is a straight forward regulation of obscenity,” Judge Andrew Brasher wrote for the majority, adding that shielding children from performances deemed obscene for them serves the state’s interest in protecting minors. The lawsuit was brought by Hamburger Mary’s, an Orlando restaurant chain that had hosted “family friendly” drag brunches before shutting its location amid the litigation.

As a state lawmaker, Ms. Nixon has previously sparred with Republicans over the issue. During debate on the legislation restricting drag performances, she offered an amendment to exempt performers dressed as X-Men characters, framing the gesture as a protest against the bill — arguing, without evidence offered, that the Marvel superheroes were created as symbols of persecuted civil rights advocates fighting for equity, diversity and inclusion, according to a report from Breitbart News.

Ms. Nixon now heads into a general election campaign against Sen. Moody, who was appointed to the seat last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the vacancy left when Marco Rubio became secretary of state.