Jared Moskowitz, a centrist Democrat and one of the most vocal supporters of Israel in the House, won his primary in Florida’s 25th Congressional District on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, despite a high-profile challenge from a democratic socialist.
Mr. Moskowitz, who is seeking a third term, is running in a new district stretching along the Atlantic coastline from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach Counties. Mr. Moskowitz’s former district, largely in blue-leaning Broward County, was eliminated when state Republicans redrew the congressional map to favor them. He will face Scott Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton.
Still, Mr. Moskowitz has an opportunity to preserve a Democratic seat. His race is considered the most competitive in the state. The Cook Political Report rated it as Florida’s only tossup election.
His first test on Tuesday may have been just as significant as his next. Oliver Larkin, a union organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, ran an insurgent campaign that captured national attention as another potential opportunity for progressives to win a primary against incumbent Democrats.
Mr. Larkin most likely would have faced an uphill climb in the general election in such a conservative state. Mr. Moskowitz had establishment backing from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and he raised significantly more money than Mr. Larkin.
The competitive primary highlighted the growing divide in the Democratic Party over Israel. The district is home to a significant number of Jewish voters.
Mr. Moskowitz, one of the most prominent Jewish Democrats in Congress, has called for “unwavering support” of Israel. He has been a staunch supporter of continued U.S. military aid to Israel, even as more than 100 Democrats in the House have voted to end it. His campaigns have garnered support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying organization.
The issue was one factor in Mr. Moskowitz’s decision to decline interviews, or debates with Mr. Larkin, who has described himself as anti-Zionist and called Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide.
“I’m not going to platform him. He’s running against me solely on my religion,” Mr. Moskowitz told WLRN, the Miami public radio station. Mr. Larkin has said he opposes antisemitism.
The congressman has touted “a record of action,” including, as a state lawmaker, shepherding aggressive gun control legislation in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018. Mr. Moskowitz attended the school as a teenager.
In 2024, Mr. Moskowitz was the target of an assassination plot. He said at the time that a man taken into custody was found with a manifesto containing antisemitic rhetoric and a target list including the congressman’s name.
Mr. Larkin tried to tie Mr. Moskowitz to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a popular Republican who appointed Mr. Moskowitz to the state’s top emergency management job and the Broward County Commission. Mr. Moskowitz’s campaign emphasized “bipartisan leadership.”
