<\/p>\n
The conventional thinking<\/span> for Democrats hoping to win in Florida is to be tough on Cuba, friendly to Israel, and careful to avoid appearing too liberal. It\u2019s a tactic aimed at courting powerful voting blocs, and one that helped Rep. Jared Moskowitz take office in the land of sunny skies and low taxes.<\/p>\n This year, however, he\u2019s facing a challenger attempting to flip that strategy on its head. A Democratic Socialists of America<\/a> member, Oliver Larkin, is trying to win a primary against Moskowitz by running far to his left on both foreign and domestic policies.<\/p>\n The pair presents a striking contrast: Moskowitz has drawn heavy support from donors associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and an artificial intelligence super PAC, while Larkin, a 34-year-old union organizer, calls himself an anti-Zionist and leans on small-dollar funders.<\/p>\n Polls of the race have produced vastly different results, with one commissioned by Larkin putting him within striking distance, while another from Moskowitz\u2019s campaign showing the incumbent far ahead.<\/p>\n Susan McManus, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Florida, said in an email that the race will be a significant tell of the mood in the Democratic electorate.<\/p>\n \u201cOf all the Florida congressional districts, this one will be the biggest test of how deep is the generational and ideological divide in the Florida Democratic Party, and to what extent the socialism label may splinter the Latino vote,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That label is one that Larkin wears proudly, describing himself on his website as an active member of the Broward County Democratic Socialists of America. He supports Medicare for All while opposing the embargo on Cuba and weapons transfers to Israel.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Intercept ahead of Tuesday\u2019s primary, Larkin said he rejected the Florida Democratic Party\u2019s tendency to lean right to win Republican and independent votes. That strategy has not worked, Larkin said, pointing to Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist\u2019s big loss to Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instead, Larkin argues that an openly leftist candidate can energize the Democratic base while winning over disaffected independents.<\/p>\n \u201cI think another false choice that corporate Democrats make is that non-party affiliated or independent voters want to see candidates split the difference right down the middle. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true,\u201d he said. \u201cThey see the status quo politics as completely broken.\u201d<\/p>\n Moskowitz\u2019s campaign did not respond to an interview request. On his campaign website, however, he leans heavily on his bipartisan bona fides, noting that he served in DeSantis\u2019s cabinet as emergency management director until his election to Congress in 2022.<\/p>\n That credential could help win over voters in a redrawn district<\/a> spanning much of the coast near Fort Lauderdale that would have voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Moskowitz already represents about half of the new district\u2019s voters in his current 23rd Congressional District.<\/p>\n The new 25th District also has one of the nation\u2019s largest Jewish populations, making Moskowitz\u2019s outspoken support for Israel particularly salient. Last week, pro-Israel activists in south Florida pressured multiple venues to cancel a joint rally that Larkin was to hold with Rep. Rashida Tlaib<\/a>, one of the Democratic Party\u2019s most outspoken critics of Israel.<\/p>\n Moskowitz has also accused Larkin \u2014 without offering any evidence \u2014 of running against him based on his religion, in a letter to the Sun Sentinel where he declined to participate in a joint interview with Larkin.<\/p>\n The South Florida newspaper called that charge \u201cdemonstrably untrue\u201d and dinged Moskowitz for dodging opportunities to face off against his opponent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sun Sentinel has endorsed Moskowitz in all of his previous races. But in this case, his continued avoidance of Larkin shows a lack of respect for voters and can be viewed as an unwillingness to defend his own record,\u201d the paper\u2019s editorial board said.<\/p>\nTheory of Change<\/h2>\n