Moskowitz wins Democratic primary to succeed Deutch, and South Florida U.S. Reps. cruise
South Florida’s congressional primary results showed voters heavily favored incumbents in Tuesday’s primary election in relatively safe seats for their political parties.
And in the crowded race for the open seat held by U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, who is retiring after three terms in Congress, Democratic candidate Jared Moskowitz defeated five opponents in the Democratic-leaning district.
With nearly all of district precincts reporting, Moskowitz, a Broward County Commissioner and former director of Florida’s division of emergency management, was on his way to comfortably winning the primary. His Republican opponent will be Joe Budd, who emerged victorious in the GOP primary, where voters chose from a field of seven Republicans.
Two candidates with no party affiliation, Mark Napier and Christine Scott, will also appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
Moskowitz, 41, was heavily favored in his primary: He was the first to enter the contest and was endorsed by a long list of Democratic officials, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and a group of well-known family members of Parkland school shooting victims.
“Now, we turn our attention to the general election on November 8,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “I’m committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that we continue the legacy of Congressman Ted Deutch.”
One of Moskowitz’s best-known Democratic opponents, Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Ben Sorensen, tried to paint Moskowitz as being too close to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican governor appointed Moskowitz to oversee emergency management in the state and later to the Broward County Commission.
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Florida’s newly drawn 23rd Congressional District — previously identified as the state’s 22nd District — had minor boundary changes through redistricting, the once-in-a-decade redrawing of legislative and congressional districts. The new district crosses county lines from Palm Beach to Broward, spanning Parkland, Coral Springs, parts of Oakland Park and most coastal cities in both counties, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Pompano Beach.
The new district expands west into Mission Bay and gains some parts of Boca Raton that were previously included in U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel’s district to the north.
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Here’s who else will be on the November ballot in South Florida congressional races.
FL District 25: U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz vs. Carla Spalding
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has been in Congress since 2005, fended off Democratic challenger Robert Millwee. She will face Carla Spalding, who won the GOP primary.
This new district is safely Democratic. According to an analysis by Matthew Isbell, a Florida election data analyst, Florida’s new Congressional District 25 voted for President Joe Biden by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2020 election. While the old district had parts of Miami-Dade County, including Surfside and Sunny Isles Beach, it is now a solidly Broward County district.
The district now includes Miramar and new parts of Hollywood Boulevard that connect west to Pembroke Pines.
FL District 26: U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart vs. Christine Alexandria Olivo
On Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart comfortably defeated Republican primary challenger Darren Aquino in the race for Florida’s Congressional District 26. He is favored to beat newcomer Christine Alexandria Olivo, the unopposed Democratic candidate, in November.
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Diaz-Balart’s new district no longer runs through three different counties — it now includes only parts of Collier and Miami-Dade counties and gains new growing neighborhoods in the city of Miami, including Allapattah and Wynwood, the trendy arts district. Isbell points out that the district’s Hispanic-majority designation is tilted heavily by Collier’s migrant farmworker population, but that voter data shows that registered voters tend to be mostly white.
In 2020, the district voted for former President Donald Trump by more than 18 percentage points. It is safely Republican.
FL District 24: U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson vs. Jesus G. Navarro
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson defeated primary challenger Kevin C. Harris on Tuesday night. She will face Jesus G. Navarro, who came out on top in the Republican primary in the district.
It initially appeared that Wilson would face a tough Democratic primary challenge when former Miami-Dade Commissioner Audrey Edmonson filed to run against the incumbent and began criticizing the longtime congresswoman. But Edmonson never qualified to make the ballot, and quietly backed out of the race.
Wilson is the incumbent in a district that has long been a majority-Black district. Since redistricting, however, Black voters are likely to be a smaller share of the electorate, in favor of more Hispanic voters.
The seat continues to be one of the most left-leaning districts in the state. In 2020, over 74% of voters favored Biden over Trump, according to Isbell’s analysis.
FL District 28: U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez vs. Robert Asencio
U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a former Miami-Dade mayor who is running for his second term in Congress after flipping his seat for Republicans, is one step closer to winning reelection. He beat two Republican opponents, Carlos Garin and Karl “KW” Miller, in Tuesday’s primary. In November, Gimenez will face former state Rep. Robert Asencio, who easily defeated Juan Paredes in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Write-in candidate Jeremiah Schaffer will also be on November’s ballot.
Florida’s Congressional District 28 is the state’s southernmost congressional seat, including all of the Florida Keys and southern Miami-Dade County. It continues to lean Republican.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 8:53 PM.
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