“Give us more power, or give us more money.”
That, according to U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., is the core formula behind the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform — an economic model the Florida Republican told Fox News Digital is failing in cities across the country and runs counter to American founding principles.
In her Senate race against DSA member and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, Moody is warning that what she describes as a far-left agenda could undermine the free-enterprise model she credits with helping make Florida an economic powerhouse.
“It is a slap in the face to Americans that their hard-earned taxpayers, taxpayer dollars went to criminals and corruption and fraud. So I’m really proud to be standing up as one of the original task force members in the Senate to combat some of this stuff,” Moody told Fox News Digital during a sit-down interview in Miami.
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“In Florida, we had the highest average tax return of any state in the nation. That’s real money that we’re leaving in your pocket, efforts of goodwill to make sure people understand we know who can spend their money best.”
“Their answer to everything, whether it’s affordability, whether it’s a challenge that you’re having with a certain business situation, whether it’s health care, I mean, you name it,” she continued. “It will go back to one of two things: It will be, give us more power to control businesses, to have government tell you how things are to be, to cram down on business — or give us more money and trust us, we’ll make it better.”
Across the country, households continue to face pressure from inflation and high living costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent consumer price index showed inflation increased 0.4% on a monthly basis and is up 3.4% from a year ago.
Moody emphasized that Republican tax policies have prioritized letting Americans keep more of their earnings through tax deductions for tips and overtime, tax relief for seniors and an expanded child tax credit. Meanwhile, priorities associated with the DSA include “Medicare for All,” free childcare and paid family leave, rent freezes and eviction moratoriums, a universal jobs program, wealth taxes and reduced military spending.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won the 2025 mayoral election after campaigning on proposals including universal childcare, a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments and higher taxes on millionaires. His election also prompted concerns among some New Yorkers, resulting in another wave of wealth migration to low-tax, low-regulation states like Florida.
“Look at what happened under [President Joe] Biden. It has exploded in terms of costs to people. When they cram down and shove out private markets, government always makes things worse,” Moody, a former federal prosecutor, judge and Florida attorney general, said. “I have been shocked to watch that the Democrats’ answer to everything [is], ‘Give us more control. Give us money. We’ll make things better,’ when it’s proven that that does not work.”
Florida’s economy, meanwhile, has grown to $1.8 trillion, making it the world’s 14th-largest economy and surpassing Australia and Mexico in gross domestic product, according to a July 2026 report from the Florida Chamber Foundation. The organization said Florida’s economy grew 6.3% over the previous year.
The senator further argued that federal intervention in the private sector drives up consumer costs and reduces quality, while private market competition keeps prices lower and encourages innovation.
“Look at what happened under [President Joe] Biden. It has exploded in terms of costs to people. When they cram down and shove out private markets, government always makes things worse,” the former lawyer, federal prosecutor, judge and attorney general said. “I have been shocked to watch that the Democrats’ answer to everything [is], ‘Give us more control. Give us money. We’ll make things better,’ when it’s proven that that does not work.”
“If my opponent had her way… government would control everything. And look at how that has worked in other countries.”
Florida is home to a large Cuban exile community, including families who left the island following the communist revolution. Cuba’s state-controlled economy has struggled with widespread shortages, recurring power outages and prolonged economic crises.
Before Mamdani’s election, Karen Rodriguez, a Cuban-born Miami resident, told Fox News Digital: “When I hear some of the plans that [Mamdani] has for New York City, again, it’s that, ‘copy, paste,’ … It’s just very triggering because it doesn’t work… You have Cubans, they make it here to the United States, and they go into a grocery store and they cry… When was the last time you cried in a grocery store? Never, right? Because it’s so normal, and we take it for granted.”
“When the revolution occurred and [Fidel] Castro said, ‘This is for the working people, by the working people,’ what happened immediately thereafter is there [was] government seizure of private industry, which ultimately led to bread lines, power outages, oppression of their people. They drove out private industry,” Moody said.
“The DSA platform, which is to allow government control of private industry, major private markets, and their attack on any structure that is meant to protect our citizens, from the military to the police, to prisons, their attack on the very foundations of this country, allowing noncitizen voting — that is erosive to the strength of this nation and the rights of our people.”
Nixon’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Moody’s remarks and Nixon’s policy positions.
“It should scare anyone to read through the agenda,” Moody said.
“I see it on the Senate floor every single day. They don’t really have policy solutions to the challenges we’re facing. Take away all the words, and think about what they’re actually saying when you ask them, ‘Okay, what would be your solution?’ The solution is: Let government control everything,” she added. “And so I think the reason you’re not seeing more in-depth interviews is because, at the end of the day, their solutions boil down to two things — more power to the government and more of your money to the government… The American people didn’t sign up for that, Floridians didn’t sign up for that.”
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