Two South Florida men who cut their political teeth in municipal government are battling for one newly gerrymandered congressional district.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., told 7News that he’s certain about what the goal of this most recent redistricting is.
“Yes, it was about trying to pick up four seats, trying to, you know, change the map in order to beat me,” said the incumbent.
Moskowitz, a Democrat of Parkland, has represented Florida’s 23rd congressional district for nearly four years.
Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer is the Republican challenging Moskowitz to represent Florida’s new 25th congressional district.
In June, Florida’s Supreme Court allowed the new district, which hugs the coastline from Delray Beach to Miami Beach.
Voters in this district supported President Donald Trump by nine points in the last election.
Singer said his local record is just what Washington needs.
“I have a record of results. As mayor, I cut taxes, red tape and crime, and delivered high-paying jobs, more green space, mobility solutions and a lot more,” said Singer.
Including his time as a city commissioner, Singer spent eight years in city government before term limits ended his time as mayor in March.
“We streamlined 21 times, cutting permitting time down 60% and lowering costs for businesses and residents. We need the same thing at the federal government” he said. “Lots of programs were cut last year, and residents haven’t seen the issue. What we have seen go are expenses going for an unsecure border — millions of people who don’t belong in this country, and we’re paying all of those expenses.”
Singer calls himself an “America First” Republican, and he said he supports the Trump administration’s stances on immigration, Venezuela, Iran and eliminating fraud, waste and corruption.
He pledged not to use inside information for stock trading, which is something both he and an independent expenditure-only political action committee tied to Trump claim his opponent has failed to do.
“Our residents at home need to know that the members in Congress aren’t using inside information to trade on stocks for their own benefit. That’s why, not only will I vote to ban stocks, I will not trade stocks in Congress, whether or not there’s a ban,” said Singer.
A Moskowitz advertisement used gas prices to hammer away at what Democrats said is a core issue in the midterm elections: affordability.
“That’s why I’m focused on lowering the cost of living,” Moskowitz said in the advertisement.
“It’s affordability, it is. I mean, they’re really suffering. I mean, I say all the time, people go to the grocery store. They don’t see parties. They see prices,” said Moskowitz. “This is not a partisan issue for them. This is about whether they can pay the bills, and no matter what happens, every month the bill comes due.”
According to demographic data analyzed by The Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel, the district is roughly 25% Jewish.
While both candidates are Jewish, Moskowitz said Singer has not called out antisemitism on the right, which is something he said he has done on the left.
“Where is his voice against fighting, you know, Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens or Nick Fuentes? Where was his voice against James Fishback, who ran a racist, antisemitic campaign against Byron Donalds in the primary?” said Moskowitz.
Each man said he is poised to meet this political moment.
“The progressives call me a moderate, right? And then, of course, the Republicans call me a progressive, which tells me I’m exactly where I need to be, which is in the middle,” said Moskowitz.
“The most important message for voters is, we have a real choice of common sense results and solutions from leaders like me, who led the city lowering taxes, lowering crime, or the far left, which has embraced socialism as a core tenet,” said Singer.
Early voting in Miami-Dade and Broward counties ends on Sunday, while early voting in Monroe County ends on Saturday.
