Republican Senator Ashley Moody won Florida's 2026 US Senate special election, defeating Democratic challenger Angie Nixon, according to a race projection by the Associated Press at 8:34 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 3. Earlier in the evening, Nixon had led with 50.0% of the vote (2,643,118), compared with Moody's 49.0% (2,590,654), according to CNN figures published at 7:32 p.m. ET, when 63% of the vote had been counted. Those earlier figures were preliminary and do not represent the final election results.

According to the preliminary CNN count at 7:32 p.m. ET, a total of 5,290,365 votes had been counted. The candidates' standings at that time were:

At 7:32 p.m. ET, CNN had not yet projected a winner in the race. The Associated Press also had not called the contest as of 7:30 p.m. ET. AP subsequently projected Moody as the winner at 8:34 p.m. ET.

Florida held a special election to fill the remainder of Marco Rubio's Senate term. Moody has held the seat since January 2025, when Governor Ron DeSantis appointed her to replace Rubio following his appointment as US secretary of state. Nixon is a Democratic state representative. With her election victory, Moody will serve the remainder of the term, which expires in January 2029.

The margin fluctuated throughout election night. According to preliminary figures published earlier in the evening, Nixon's lead narrowed from 4.0 to 1.6 percentage points as the reported vote count rose from 49% to 62%. CNN subsequently reported 63% counted at 7:32 p.m. ET, with Nixon holding a lead of approximately one percentage point. These differences reflect separate stages of the preliminary count. Early and mail-in ballots may be tabulated before other votes, so the composition of outstanding ballots can change as counting continues.

Polls in Florida's western Panhandle closed at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, one hour after polling places in most of the state. Votes from those areas were therefore still pending when CNN published its 7:32 p.m. snapshot.

Note: The Associated Press projected Ashley Moody as the winner at 8:34 p.m. ET on November 3, 2026. The earlier vote totals in this article are retained as a historical snapshot and should not be interpreted as final results.

Sources: CNN election results, Associated Press election coverage, PBS/AP Florida Senate results.