Florida Democrat warns of socialist surge after DSA candidate’s primary win
A primary upset by Democratic Socialists of America member Angie Nixon shook the Florida Democratic establishment after a 12-point victory. Representative Jared Moskowitz breaks down his own successful primary strategy against a far-left challenger. He also hits back at Senator Rick Scott for claiming moderate Democrats are too frightened to stand up to the progressive wing of their party.
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Rep. Jared Moskowitz hit back Thursday after Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., claimed the Florida Democrat is “scared to death” of his party’s socialist wing and would take marching orders from far-left streamer Hasan Piker if re-elected.
“Rick doesn’t know what he’s talking about there,” Moskowitz said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”
“Nobody in my district believes that I’m a Hasan Piker guy. Hasan would want nothing to do with me. I want nothing to do with Hasan, so, at the end of the day, Rick just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
PIKER DEMANDS DEMOCRATS DEFEND HIM FROM ATTACKS, CLAIMS HE’S NO ‘TOXIC RADICAL FORCE’
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., left, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.; Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., right, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Scott made the remark during a FOX Business appearance Monday, arguing that whichever Democrat won the primary would do Piker’s bidding.
“Moskowitz has been in there. He was in the House before. I assume he’s going to win,” Scott said on “Varney & Co.”
“But just remember, whoever wins that seat, they’re going to vote the way Piker tells them to vote…. They all support the platform of the Democrat socialists, because they’re scared to death of them,” he added.
Moskowitz has been described as a more “centrist” Democrat who is outspoken in his support of Israel and critical of many aligned with his party’s more progressive flank, including Piker.
FLORIDA DEMOCRAT SAYS HIS STATE ‘THANKFULLY’ DOESN’T HAVE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS LIKE NEW YORK
Hasan Piker, a streamer and creator, appears at Web Summit Vancouver 2026 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on May 13. (Sportsfile via Getty Images)
After defeating Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed challenger Oliver Larkin, Moskowitz took a victory lap on X, sending mocking “condolences” to Piker.
Piker responded to Moskowitz’s callout, writing, “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.”
Moskowitz has continued to oppose the DSA agenda and its candidates, arguing that they are “anti-American at their core” and reiterating that Democratic leadership should “speak out” against the DSA agenda.
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At the same time, he acknowledged an issue he believes mainstream Democrats cannot afford to ignore.
“There is a economic populist movement to the DSA, and we’ve got to recognize that we’ve got to talk about how people are struggling to afford the American way of life,” he said.
‘ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
