U.S. Senate special · Appointed incumbent · August 18 primaries · November 3 general · Not an official ballot

U.S. Senate special 2026: Moody, Nixon, and the Tuesday field we scored

If you’re still turning the Senate race over after Tuesday, you’re not being fussy. This one is a special election — not the regular six-year seat. Governor Ron DeSantis appointed former Attorney General Ashley B. Moody to fill it. The August 18, 2026 primaries were about who the parties would send to November 3.

Unofficial election-night tables: Moody won the Republican primary and Angie Nixon won the Democratic primary. Those two meet on November 3, 2026 unless the canvass changes it. We’re leaving the whole Tuesday field on this page. A primary win doesn’t raise a score, and you still deserve to see who was in the room.

Scores run Christian / Constitution / GOP, out of 45 / 35 / 20. The letter is that 100-point total (90–100 A, 80–89 B, 70–79 C, 60–69 D, 59 and under F). Rubric: how we score. Badges: callout badges explained. When general sample ballots post, print the names that remain.

What the numbers are actually saying

Moody is 42 / 28 / 20 — 90, an A. The numbers are high because the former Florida AG record is public. That is the total talking, not a hidden promotion.

Nixon is 6 / 4 / 0 (10, an F). Vindman is 4 / 3 / 0 (7, an F). Those are honest low totals after a real look at Democratic Senate candidates whose public brands are not a Jesus / GOP grid. An F here is the math, not “almost conservative.”

If you like a single number, add the three bars. Moody 90, Rivera 65, Perry 64, Gleason 63, Nixon 10, Vindman 7. That’s our weighting — Christian first. If you personally put incumbency or a national-security résumé above a Christ-named intensity, you’ll reorder the list at your own kitchen table. The bars won’t do that for you.

The Republicans on Tuesday’s ballot

Ashley B. Moody (R, incumbent) — 42 / 28 / 20 · A

Moody is the appointed incumbent and a former Florida Attorney General. Christian 42 sits on that AG record, not on a slogan we wrote for her: pro-life enforcement, parental rights, religious-liberty litigation. That’s a thick public trail. Constitution 28 is limited-government, state-AG conservatism — not the health-freedom peak we gave some governor cards. GOP 20 is the ceiling: Republican officeholder, Trump-world ally from the AG years. That’s the triple on the card.

A Trump-world alliance from those AG years is real. It isn’t the same thing as one Senate-primary endorsement letter doing all the work. 90 is an A on this scale. The letter is the total, not a comment on how long the memo is.

Ernie Rivera (R) — 30 / 21 / 14 · D

That’s Reverend Ernest “Ernie” Rivera. Campaign site: ernie4senate.com. The public clergy title is why Christian sits at 30 — the highest of the non-incumbent Republicans we scored — without a Moody-level AG record. Constitution 21 and GOP 14 are the rest of a thinner statewide trail. We opened more than a ballot list. A pastor’s title should move the Christian bar versus also-rans. It does not manufacture a 42.

Neelam Perry (R) — 27 / 23 / 14 · D

Dr. Neelam Taneja Perry, a physician. Campaign site: perryforfl.com. Christian 27, Constitution 23, GOP 14. We didn’t find a continuous Jesus-named Senate grid in major coverage. The Constitution bar sits a couple of points above Rivera on a professional / public-health résumé — not on a health-freedom MAHA file we’re imagining. That’s a long shot next to an incumbent with a statewide AG record, and she was still on the Tuesday ballot, so she stays on this page.

Chris Gleason (R) — 26 / 22 / 15 · D

Army veteran, technology background. Campaign site: voteforgleason.com. Christian 26, Constitution 22, GOP 15. Same story on the Jesus grid: we didn’t find a continuous one in major coverage. His GOP bar is the highest of the three non-incumbent Republicans we scored, and still five points under Moody. Treat the official sample ballot as the full Republican style. If another GOP name printed on yours and we haven’t scored it, that’s a gap in our homework, not a secret ranking.

The Democrats on Tuesday’s ballot

Angela Nixon (D) — 6 / 4 / 0 · F

Florida state representative, House District 13 in Jacksonville. Press also calls her Angie Nixon — that’s the same person, and unofficially she’s the Democratic nominee. Progressive legislator. Christian 6, Constitution 4, GOP 0. No continuous Jesus grid. We opened more than a ballot list. The totals are low because the public record is a progressive House brand, not because we skipped the Democratic primary. Some styles print Angela. Some coverage uses Angie. Confirm the name on your Supervisor’s style.

Alex Vindman (D) — 4 / 3 / 0 · F

Retired Army lieutenant colonel, former National Security Council official, 2019 impeachment witness. Campaign site: alexvindman.com. Christian 4, Constitution 3, GOP 0. That’s the triple on the card. The public brand is national security and opposition to Trump, not a Jesus / GOP grid. 7 is an F. That is the total, not “almost Moody.”

Two nomination rooms, then one November room

Florida’s primary is closed. Only registered Republicans voted the GOP special — Moody, Gleason, Perry, Rivera, and any other Republican name that printed on a given style. Only registered Democrats voted Nixon versus Vindman. If you’re NPA, you typically didn’t see either nomination block in August. That’s not a clerk’s mistake. That’s the closed primary, written out for church voters. Book-closing for August 18 was July 20, 2026. Nobody can rewrite that registration now.

November 3 is the general. Every registered voter gets the remaining pair — unofficially Moody and Nixon. After August 18, what November 3 still decides. Pull a new sample ballot when general styles post: how to read a Florida sample ballot. Civic checklist: how to vote.

What we opened

Ballotpedia and the Palm Beach Post (August 8, 2026) confirm this six-name field for the August 18 special primary. Those are the six we scored. If your Supervisor printed a write-in line or a name we haven’t scored, the PDF is still the legal list. Send a public source to hello@jesusvoter.com and we’ll look. Typical stack is the same as the rest of the guide: Ballotpedia, Division of Elections and SOE lists, campaign sites, named news, questionnaires, recorded votes. We don’t invent quotes, or turn a clergy title into a 42, or hand out a 20 GOP just because the voter file says R — Moody’s 20 is office plus record.

The governor field is a separate essay with thicker memos: Florida governor 2026 values. Don’t import Fishback’s 44 onto Moody, and don’t import Moody’s AG record onto a county mayor. Orange’s nonpartisan example is still Orange County mayor 2026. How to read any of these cards: how to read a JesusVoter card.

Open the full Senate field, as scored, in the interactive guide. Florida is the only live state. Other states are text, not links.