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Jared Moskowitz Defeats DSA Challenger Oliver Larkin In Florida Democratic Primary
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Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) fended off a challenge from democratic socialist Oliver Larkin in Florida’s 25th Congressional District Tuesday. The Republican-leaning district is different from the deep blue territory where other candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America have toppled establishment Democrats. It’s possible Larkin would have had a harder time than Moskowitz in the general election in a district recently redrawn to favor Republicans. Moskowitz, a younger moderate known for comedic turns during committee hearings, largely avoided commenting on his Democratic opponent during the campaign. But he touted his bipartisan tendencies, saying the district isn’t winnable for just any Democrat. “It takes someone who has already represented these communities, someone with a record of standing up to extremists in both parties, and someone who knows how to talk to Independents and Republicans who are exhausted by Washington dysfunction,” Moskowitz told Florida Politics in an interview published Monday. He’s partnered with Republicans on legislation and previously served as director of emergency management for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Moskowitz also said he opposed adding any conditions on aid to Israel, planting himself firmly on the opposite side of the issue from the DSA and staking out a position that’s likely more popular in the South Florida district, where there are a lot of Jewish voters, than in some more Democratic-leaning parts of the country. Larkin hasn’t shied from the DSA platform, which envisions not just enacting Medicare for All, but also abolishing prisons and getting rid of the U.S. Senate. He argued Democrats needed to be bolder in their agenda if they wanted to win elections. “This is, in fact, what Democrats need to embrace writ large if we’re going to take back the House in November, and if we’re going to take back the White House in 2028 along with the United States Senate,” Larkin told HuffPost in an interview last month. As for Israel, Larkin made a populist case for cutting off aid, saying American voters don’t want their money going “toward war crimes, toward genocide and toward propping up a Jim Crow apartheid regime when so many of us are struggling here.” Larkin won an endorsement from the national DSA organization and the prominent socialist influencer Hasan Piker, but not from progressive Capitol Hill kingmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.