1 hour ago

The DSA Challenger Who Could Actually Cost Democrats A Seat

Fresh off victories over the Democratic establishment in safely Democratic seats in New York and Colorado, the Democratic Socialists of America have set their sights on a more problematic target: a Democratic congressman representing a district President Donald Trump won by nine points.

The DSA has endorsed Oliver Larkin in a primary challenge against Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) to represent Florida's 25th District, a previously Democratic-leaning seat which state Republicans redrew earlier this year to favor the GOP. The organization suggested this week Moskowitz would be their next big takedown.

Politics: Trump White House's Taylor Swift Stunt Marks Its 'So ******* Cringe' Era

"The movement moves from New York to Colorado to FLORIDA!" the DSA said on social media. The socialist influencer Hasan Piker hosted a virtual fundraiser for Larkin on Tuesday.

While establishment Democrats have not exactly been overjoyed with successful campaigns by DSA-backed candidates to oust incumbent Democrats, they've also downplayed how much it matters in November since the bright-blue seats they've won have no chance of going Republican and harming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' chances of being House speaker next year.

The 25th District is a much different story. A socialist candidate who has built much of his campaign around opposition to U.S. aid to Israel would have little chance of winning the South Florida-based seat, which is full of older Jewish voters with an emotional connection to the country. A Larkin victory could simply hand the seat to the GOP.

Larkin insists even conservative-leaning voters will be attracted to his message.

Politics: Mamdani Gives America 250 Speech, Iran Prepares For Khamenei's Funeral: Live Updates

"This one is the next one up, the place where we can prove the viability that this Democratic socialist vision and his movement across the country is not just confined to the deep blue districts," he told HuffPost in a phone interview. "This is, in fact, what Democrats need to embrace writ large if we're going to take back the House in November, and if we're going to take back the White House in 2028 along with the United States Senate."

Moskowitz's campaign declined to comment. There are plenty of reasons to think Moskowitz might be a tougher out than Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Col.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), who were beaten in primaries last month by socialist challengers Melat Kiros and Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Moskowitz is only 45, has served in the House since just 2023, and is highly visible on social media and television, making him harder to paint as an out-of-touch creature of Washington. He held up giant photos of Donald Trump together with Jeffrey Epstein long before Democrats fully caught on to the president's past association with America's most notorious *** predator.

To Larkin, Moskowitz's vote for the Laken Riley Act, his support for Israel, his decision to be the first Democrat last year to join the "DOGE Caucus," essentially a fan club for Elon Musk, make him a perfectly logical target.

Politics: Democrats Eye Deep-Red Turf As Trump's Popularity Tumbles

"We've got people who are really upset about what Elon Musk and DOGE did to the federal government," he said, adding that Moskowitz's DOGE dalliance contributed to the Florida AFL-CIO's decision not to endorse him.

Polling suggests an uphill battle for Larkin. A survey released this week found Moskowitz up by more than 30 points, with 64% of Democratic voters saying they favored whichever candidate could beat a Republican in November. Still, 28% of voters were undecided.

"I think this is really a toss-up environment as soon as people learn about our campaign," Larkin said.

Democrats have also worried the DSA members who win primaries are endorsing unpopular positions on social issues like crime and immigration in ways that will hurt the party's overall brand. Avila Chevalier is a prison abolitionist who declined to say last month that someone who randomly commits murder should be locked up. Republicans point to Avila Chevalier's primary win as the latest evidence Democrats are becoming full-blown communists. Larkin said he basically agreed with her position.

Politics: Mamdani's Win Is Inspiring A Wave Of Left-Wing Challengers In NYC

"I think most Americans agree that we need to radically reform our system of criminal justice. There are far too many locked up in prisons," Larkin said. "Of course, I'm going to treat the level of homicide or violent assault with the seriousness that it entails, but I think what Darializa Avila Chevalier is speaking to is very true, that our criminal justice system does not, in its current form, rehabilitate people."

As for the fact that Florida's 25th District has one of the country's highest concentrations of Jewish voters, Larkin pointed to DSA-backed Zohran Mamdani's electoral success in New York City, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

"People in general just do not like to see our taxpayer-dollars going toward war crimes, toward genocide and toward propping up a Jim Crow apartheid regime when so many of us are struggling here," Larkin said.

The winner of the Aug. 18 Democratic primary will face the winner of a crowded Republican primary between Scott Singer, George Moraitis, Joe Kaufman, Daniel Franzese and Raven Harrison.

Politics: 'Pay Very Close Attention': MS NOW Host Dunks On Trump With 'Embarrassing' New Footage

In its endorsement in March, the DSA said Larkin would take on "one of the most war-mongering" Democrats in Congress. It was the DSA's first endorsement of a candidate for federal office this year.

"We will no longer allow billionaire-backed democrats to claim that we have to spend billions on war while healthcare is further decimated — we're challenging them in the primaries with organized people who can't be bought," the group said on its website.

Megan Romer, a co-chair of the national DSA, said the organization helped coordinate 500,000 phone calls on behalf of Melat Kiros in Colorado and will do the same for Larkin.

"We believe that we can run in tough territory," Romer said.

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost.