Florida's 25th District: Unsuccessful candidate Oliver Larkin says he stands by Democratic ticket -- including Moskowitz

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Sep 1, 2026

Published in Political News

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It’s not exactly a full-throated endorsement of the candidate who defeated him in a contentious South Florida congressional primary, but Oliver Larkin says he’s going to “stand by our Democratic ticket,” which includes U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

In Larkin’s view, it’s essential to keep the district in Democratic hands and to prevent the winner of the 25th Congressional District Republican primary, former Mayor Scott Singer of Boca Raton, from going to Congress and to end House Speaker Mike Johnson’s tenure.

“My differences with (Moskowitz) were very apparent during the primary, but I see the Republican Party and Scott Singer and Mike Johnson as a far greater threat to the kind of change that we need to make,” he said Sunday. “I’m going to stand by our Democratic ticket.”

The contest leading up to the Aug. 18 primary was contentious. Larkin was unsparing in his criticism of Moskowitz, describing him as a corporate Democrat beholden to his campaign contributors, especially the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Larkin favored ending U.S. military aid to Israel.

Moskowitz said Larkin, who had the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, shouldn’t have even run in the Democratic primary and instead sought office as a socialist. And he refused to appear with Larkin in any forum at any time.

Moskowitz won the primary, 63.5% to 36.5%.

The three-county district runs along the coast from Delray Beach to Miami Beach. In Broward, the spread was 59%-41%; in Miami-Dade County, it was 56%-44%; and in Palm Beach County it was 73%-27%.

On primary night, Larkin called Moskowitz, the kind of gesture from a losing candidate that was once common but happens far less frequently in the current political climate. Moskowitz posted on social media that they “had a good conversation. This is how democracy works.”

On Sunday, in a brief interview before activists canvassed in the Hollywood area for Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Angie Nixon, Larkin said the primary night call was “a nice, brief conversation.”

Larkin said he didn’t know if he would run again for Congress in 2028.

“We’ll see. I’m focused on Angie through November,” he said. He added that it sounds “like the politician answer. But I’ve received a lot of encouragement, and I still care very deeply about making change in the state. So we’ll see what comes after we send Angie to the Senate.”

The Moskowitz-Singer contest is among the most hotly contested races in the country. All the major independent ratings — Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics — report the 25th District is a toss up.

In a clip from a Fox News Digital interview Singer posted on social media Friday, he said, “The district continues to get more Republican because people are abandoning the Democratic Party because the mainstream Democratic Party of even a few years ago has abandoned them. It’s now a socialist-led party. And it’s sad for America. That’s why we need to band together and make sure independent voters understand what’s at stake.”

The map creating the district was drafted by an aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis and ratified this spring by Republicans who control the Florida Legislature. Earlier, President Donald Trump told Republican-controlled states to change congressional districts in ways designed to elect more Republicans and fewer Democrats.

Larkin said turnout in the 25th District primary gives him some concern about the general election. “Turnout concerns me. We had a lower turnout in the primary than I had anticipated, and that is a worry for November.”

Larkin said he’s optimistic about the statewide prospect for Nixon, the progressive who defeated the establishment centrist Alex Vindman in the U.S. Senate primary — an outcome that was a mirror image of his contest with Moskowitz.

“I’m so optimistic and inspired by her campaign, and I think that we have an opportunity to really turn out a massive coalition for her in November, and it’s the grassroots organizing that powered her through the primary,” Larkin said. “She’s going to be outspent by these MAGA Republicans and GOP super PACs, but I think people power is going to win the day.”

The top of the ticket features Nixon, a progressive, and David Jolly, a former Republican turned Democrat, running for governor.

“I love it. It’s the two tent poles of the big tent,” he said. “If they’re more down the middle, they’re going to have someone to vote for. If they’re more progressive, they’re going to have someone to vote for, and I think that’s going to boost Democrats.”

Larkin said he saw a commonality between Nixon’s and Jolly’s approach. “Jolly was a grassroots campaigner. He was going everywhere. He was motivating people and mobilizing them and turning them out, and I think Angie did the same thing with her listening tour.”

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