At a Tuesday night rally in Kissimmee, Florida, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez told Puerto Rican voters that Republicans use the 'bogeyman of communism' to derail common-sense progressive proposals, arguing that good schools, well-funded hospitals and guaranteed health care for all Americans are not communism. She headlined the 'Boricuas con Angie' event at Osceola Heritage Park before about 1,500 people, alongside Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Maxwell Alejandro Frost, backing Democratic US Senate candidate Angie Nixon, a state legislator running against Republican Senator Ashley Moody in the November 3 election.
Moody, whom Governor Ron DeSantis appointed in early 2025 to fill the seat left vacant when Marco Rubio was confirmed as secretary of state, leads by 7.3% in the Real Clear Politics polling average. Nixon, who in August voiced support for Puerto Rico’s self-determination and for ending the Oversight Board’s functions under PROMESA, told the crowd that Puerto Ricans of all ideologies recognize the need to address the island’s colonial status, citing equitable access to goods, the water crisis and beach privatization.
Ocasio Cortez, addressing the roughly 500,000 Puerto Ricans of central Florida among 1.3 million in the state, said their turnout can decide this and future elections. Velázquez, retiring from Congress in December after 34 years, received a tribute and said Nixon would back Puerto Rico’s power grid, infrastructure and self-determination, with Medicare for All including Puerto Ricans on the island.
She also criticized spending on the war against Iran, which the Pentagon reportedly told Congress has cost about $47 billion.