Anti-Zionist Democratic Socialist Challenges Top AIPAC-Backed Incumbent in Florida Primary

Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, one of Congress's most reliable pro-Israel voices, is facing a primary challenge from a Democratic Socialists of America member who calls himself an anti-Zionist and wants to cut off weapons transfers to Israel.

The race, which comes to a head Tuesday, pits two starkly different visions of Florida Democratic politics against each other. Moskowitz has built his political career on bipartisan credentials, including a stint in Gov. Ron DeSantis's cabinet as emergency management director before winning a House seat in 2022. He has drawn heavy support from donors associated with AIPAC and an artificial intelligence super PAC, according to The Intercept.

His challenger, 34-year-old union organizer Oliver Larkin, is running on Medicare for All, ending the Cuba embargo, and halting weapons transfers to Israel. He describes himself on his campaign website as an active member of the Broward County Democratic Socialists of America.

A Test District

The newly redrawn 25th Congressional District spans much of the coast near Fort Lauderdale and includes one of the nation's largest Jewish populations, a fact that makes Moskowitz's Israel advocacy politically potent. About half the district's voters already live in Moskowitz's current 23rd District.

Susan McManus, a political science professor emeritus at the University of South Florida, said the primary will reveal how deep the ideological rift runs inside the state's Democratic Party. She said in an email that the race is the biggest test yet of whether the "socialism label" could fracture the party's Latino voting bloc.

Dueling internal polls have produced wildly different pictures of the race. A survey commissioned by Larkin's campaign shows him within striking distance of Moskowitz. A poll from Moskowitz's campaign shows the incumbent far ahead. Larkin's campaign announced August 13 that it had raised over $1 million, while Moskowitz's most recent filing shows nearly $3 million in receipts and $1.8 million cash on hand.

Pressure and Accusations

Pro-Israel activists in south Florida pressured multiple venues last week to cancel a planned joint rally between Larkin and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., one of Congress's most outspoken critics of Israeli policy, The Intercept reported. No venues, organizers, or documentation of the pressure campaign have been named publicly.

Moskowitz separately accused Larkin, without offering evidence, of running against him because of his religion. He made the claim in a letter to the Sun Sentinel explaining why he would not join Larkin for a joint interview. The paper's editorial board called the accusation "demonstrably untrue" and criticized Moskowitz for repeatedly avoiding face-offs with his challenger, noting it had endorsed him in every prior race.

Larkin, a Florida native who volunteered and worked as a staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders before returning home, argues that Florida Democrats' habit of tacking right to chase Republican and independent votes has failed, pointing to Charlie Crist's 2024 landslide loss to DeSantis. He told The Intercept that undecided voters are not looking for candidates who split the difference, but for an alternative to what he calls broken status quo politics.

Moskowitz's campaign did not respond to an interview request.