As Boca Raton, Fla., Mayor Scott Singer aims to unseat pro-Israel stalwart Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the Republican is hoping that the region’s conservative shifts will help propel him to victory.

Singer told Jewish Insider last week he’s running for Congress because he “love[s] public service” and he sees the country at a “critical point … where we can go back to the failed policies of four years ago or continue to advance the gains that President Trump has made,” and he wants to help push Trump’s agenda forward. That includes Trump’s Middle East policy, which Singer lauded.

Singer, who is running in a traditionally Democratic district, emphasized his three-decade history of public service in the region, and said that he’s “seen a renewed enthusiasm and resurgence in terms of conservative, common sense policies,” particularly among Jewish voters, “as the Democratic Party has grown more and more left.”

“We’re seeing the Republican Party under President Trump becoming the party that really represents more of the issues that a lot of Jewish voters tend to care about,” Singer argued.

He also noted that the district, Florida’s 23rd, has seen a growth in conservative voters coming from out of state, many from states or cities led by Democrats. Trump came within two points of carrying the district in 2024, losing to former Vice President Kamala Harris, 50-48%. That was one of the bigger political shifts in the country, given that in 2020, Trump lost the district to Joe Biden by 13 points.Meanwhile, Moskowitz won his reelection bid 52%-48%.”

Whether Moskowitz and Singer actually end up facing each other in November remains somewhat of an open question, however, pending the outcome of Florida’s upcoming redistricting process.

Singer told JI that his alignment with the GOP has been shaped by his Jewish faith.

“Judaism places a value on individual rights and opportunity, responsibilities, education and freedom,” Singer said. “For hundreds of years, Jewish people were often excluded from Western society and had to make their way — often, as entrepreneurs or self employed, as generations of my family have been — finding ways for them to advance through society.”

“The promise of America is so great because anyone can come here and achieve great things,” he continued. “I’ve always leaned toward the right, because I found that this was a party that valued people’s individual opportunities, merits and contributions, and a natural home that’s consistent with the values that inform my faith.”

Singer argued that Trump has been the strongest advocate and champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship of any U.S. president and a “strong voice against antisemitism, and people are realizing this,” leading to shifts among Jewish voters toward the GOP.

He said that he “personally and spiritually [has] deep connections to the State of Israel and our ancestral home.” And he said that a continued strong U.S.-Israel relationship serves both countries’ interests.

“Israel has been taking a leading edge, fighting terror and fighting enemies who want to see the destruction of Western culture, Western values and the United States,” Singer said.

“What concerns me is in the Democratic Party — and I think it’s concerning a lot of voters, including historic Democratic voters and mainstream voters — is the outrageous and moral failings of Democratic leadership to to confront or contradict claims of genocide when Israel was brutally attacked by terrible terrorists who created committed horrific crimes against women and children — murdering, raping, strangling, kidnapping and torturing,” Singer continued, referencing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

He downplayed anti-Israel trends among some on the right as “a few fringe commentators who seem to have lost semblance of what it means to be a conservative and do not represent the conservative movement.”

Singer emphasized that those voices are out of step with Trump.

“What concerns me is in the Democratic Party — and I think it’s concerning a lot of voters, including historic Democratic voters and mainstream voters — is the outrageous and moral failings of Democratic leadership to to confront or contradict claims of genocide when Israel was brutally attacked by terrible terrorists who created committed horrific crimes against women and children — murdering, raping, strangling, kidnapping and torturing,” Singer continued, referencing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

Asked how he’d describe Moskowitz’s own record on these issues — the two-term Democratic lawmaker has been vocally supportive of Israel and has broken with many in his party on the issue — Singer offered little direct criticism for Moskowitz, instead arguing that he has limited power against what Singer described as a dominant anti-Israel current in the Democratic Party.

“You have to go back to the party and where you are,” Singer said. “When you’re a junior congressman and beholden to some of the increasingly hostile attitude of the Democratic Party and Democratic leadership, including statements by leaders in the House of Representatives that call Israel’s self defense a genocide. When they’re running the party, it’s very hard for any junior member to really stand out and make an effective difference in policy.”

Moskowitz responded in a statement to JI, “I guess the people who are trying to assassinate me over my support for Israel — they obviously think I’m pretty effective,” adding, “By [Singer’s] own logic, I guess there’s no reason for him to run for Congress because he won’t be able to help the district, because he’ll be a freshman.”

Moskowitz has stood apart from most Democrats on various issues relating to Israel, including voting for a controversial bill providing aid to Israel while cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service, voting to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, voting to override President Joe Biden’s holds on certain arms sales to Israel and calling for stronger action by the Biden administration on a range of areas related to Israel policy, Iran and antisemitism.

The Democratic congressman has regularly crossed party lines to cosponsor legislation to support Israel and combat Iran with Republican colleagues.

Moskowitz is also facing a progressive primary challenger who has focused significantly on attacking his support for Israel.

Singer said that the U.S.’ current focus, when it comes to Israel, should be disarming and removing Hamas from Gaza. He expressed support for the Trump administration-led ceasefire plan, and said it’s “too hard to speculate” what might come after that, including whether the U.S. should support a two-state solution.

Singer said that, as a member of Congress, he would be vocal against antisemitism, and said that “Congress needs to codify gains that are coming from the Trump executive orders and reevaluate its approach to universities and other institutions at all levels of education” due to what he said was their failure to protect Jewish students’ civil rights.

“There’s still a constant and present danger to people who love freedom, the Israeli people, and also the people who’ve been oppressed by 20 years of a brutal regime,” Singer said.

He praised Trump’s “bold and necessary action” to strike Iran’s nuclear program last June, and said that the U.S. needs to “stand strong” against the Iranian regime amid its violent crackdown on protesters.

“What we’ve seen over the last few weeks with the terrible slaughter — the extent of which we don’t quite fully know because of blackouts — of people longing for peace may hopefully send a signal of an end to this harmful regime,” Singer continued. “We need to continue to work through our diplomatic, economic and military channels to ensure the safety of our nation, the safety of allies, and hopefully bring relief to people in various lands who’ve been threatened by this rogue regime.”

Singer said that, as a member of Congress, he would be vocal against antisemitism, and said that “Congress needs to codify gains that are coming from the Trump executive orders and reevaluate its approach to universities and other institutions at all levels of education” due to what he said was their failure to protect Jewish students’ civil rights.

He said he would be open to bills to “increase standards” for schools receiving federal funding and to revoke funds to ensure that students’ rights are protected.

He said that Congress also “needs to continue to work in terms of fighting antisemitism, in terms of definitions, training, support for institutions — at the state level, we have strong support for religious schools — and ensuring religious freedom for all people.”

Singer said Congress should consider enhancing protections, such as the FACE Act, for religious institutions to allow people to worship freely and without fear, if necessary.

Singer argued that voices in the GOP that have been attempting to mainstream antisemitic ideology are confined to the “fringe,” emphasizing that he sees the issues as more within the mainstream in the Democratic Party.

“There are fringe voices who seem to have lost the thread of the conservative movement and even in some cases, the pro-America movement, by their unfounded criticisms,” Singer said. “And these loud voices should [continue] to be disregarded. Good speech drives out bad speech, and we need to continue to stand strong on all sides of the political spectrum.”