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Jared Moskowitz Is Running For Reelection — Against Hasan Piker And The DSA

After winning the Democratic primary to represent Florida's 25th congressional district, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) didn't thank voters or pivot to his Republican opponent in the November general election. He pivoted to Hasan Piker.

The prominent socialist influencer had endorsed Oliver Larkin, Moskowitz's primary opponent. During the campaign, Moskowitz didn't say much about Larkin or Piker, but as soon as the race was called, he immediately offered sarcastic condolences to Piker on social media.

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"I've had to show discipline for the last two months online that I did not know I had," Moskowitz told HuffPost on Wednesday. "Sometimes you got to let a little air out of the balloon."

Moskowitz may be the Democrats' most effective online troll, and he's got a comedic flair during Capitol Hill committee hearings, but he's serious about his antipathy toward Piker.

"This is a guy who dresses up as the former leader of China who killed 50 million people," Moskowitz said. "It's a guy who says he's not patriotic. It's a guy who says he wished the Soviet Union won the Cold War. It's a guy who says we deserved 9/11, right? This is not someone politicians should be campaigning with."

Piker has been at the forefront of a Democratic insurgency that's seen progressives and socialists defeat incumbent Democrats and establishment endorsees in several primary elections, most notably Abdul El-Sayed's win over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

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But Piker and the Democratic Socialists of America, a like-minded political organization, have been less involved in Democratic primaries in red states, where conventional wisdom holds that a socialist candidate would fare worse against a Republican in the general election. Slamming Piker might be good politics in the general election in Florida's 25th district, where voters favored President Donald Trump over Kamala Harris by a wide margin in 2024. Moskowitz said it's a weird place for Piker to have endorsed against a Democrat.

"This is the only red seat in the country he played in. Ask yourself, 'Why did he do that?'" Moskowitz said. "He came here, he targeted me because of my faith, and because I'm pro-Israel."

Moskowitz is one of the most vocal members of the pro-Israel wing of the Democratic Party, which has seen increasing numbers of elected lawmakers oppose unconditional aid to the Jewish state over its deadly siege of Gaza. His South Florida district is home to a large Jewish population.

Piker responded to Moskowitz's fake condolences on Tuesday night, saying on social media, "its pretty wild that his first thought was a prominent critic of israel, before even thanking his constituents lmao. really worried about his genocidal emotional support apartheid state."

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On his Twitch stream Wednesday, Piker criticized Moskowitz's punch-left strategy.

"No matter how moderate the district is, no matter how right-wing the district, stop that game. If you don't differentiate yourself from the Republicans, you're basically serving your existing constituents to the Republicans," Piker said.

Democratic leaders have avoided criticizing Piker while Republicans have used him in their efforts to tar Democrats as communists and antisemites. (Piker has said he's not an antisemite, just a strong critic of Israel and Zionism.)

"I'm standing up for the Democratic Party. I'm standing up for Jews in America, who he has specifically targeted," Moskowitz said. "I am standing up for good Americans who hear him talk about us losing to the Soviet Union and that we deserved 9/11, and him dressing up as a murderous dictator that killed 50 million people. I'm standing up for all Americans that love this country."

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As for his upcoming Republican opponent, former Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer, Moskowitz did spare some unkind words.

"Nobody knows what they're going to get from him at any point in time. He tries to be all things to all people. Won't take positions. Hides all the time," Moskowitz said. "He's the Masked Singer."

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