U.S. House Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, travels to Orlando this month to host a Students for Solidarity town hall at the University of Central Florida. The event is free to attend and open to the public.
He’ll be joined by Orlando’s own U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost, Florida House Rep. Anna Eskamani, and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Rep. Angie Nixon. Nixon, a progressive state lawmaker from Jacksonville, is facing an uphill battle this November to unseat GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, a former state attorney general who has been backed by President Donald Trump.
Moody was appointed, not elected, to her seat in 2025 to fill the Senate vacancy left by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The goal of Khanna’s town hall, according to a news release, is to gather students and young, progressive organizers to discuss pressing social and economic issues of the day that are expected to shape the lives of future generations, from the rapid growth of artificial intelligence — and the threat it poses to jobs — to the political influence of corporate special interests, student loan debt, and the fight to establish a free, universal healthcare system under Medicare for All.
“A handful of billionaires and corporate special interests have rigged our economy and our politics. Young people are paying the price, but this generation also has the power to change it,” reads a Mobilize event page for the upcoming town hall.
The Students for Solidarity town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the UCF Student Union, located at 12715 Pegasus Drive.
Khanna’s UCF town hall is the second stop on what his office describes as a national college and university campus tour organized in partnership with the Young Progressive Democrats of America, the Sunrise Movement, Gen Z for Change and other young adult political advocacy groups.
Khanna, who recently admitted he’s “seriously considering” a run for U.S. President in 2028, has been one of the most outspoken voices in Congress on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuses, joining the call by some federal lawmakers to abolish ICE.
Khanna, along with Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, has also led efforts to force the Department of Justice to release the files documenting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s communications and activities.
Students at the University of Central Florida have similarly protested the university’s collaboration with ICE under the Trump administration and demonstrated against the Israel-Hamas war — specifically Israel’s ongoing asymmetric assault on Gaza following an initial attack on Israelis by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Students launched a call to action for the university’s divestment in Israel in 2024.
Students at the university have also protested the university’s acquiescence to state censorship efforts in recent years under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and went viral this past May for booing a pro-AI speech at the graduation ceremony for UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities and Nicholson School of Communication this past May.
The announcement of Khanna’s town hall is the latest show of support from high-profile progressives in Congress for Angie Nixon. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who popularized the Medicare for All movement during his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020, also announced an upcoming rally with Nixon in Tampa on Oct. 17.
Nixon — who scored an upset victory against U.S. Army vet Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary election — supports Medicare for All, ending unconditional aid to Israel, fighting for stronger labor and tenant protections, creating a free universal childcare program and enacting campaign finance reform that gets big money out of politics.
