Florida voters reject political extremes
Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz easily fended off socialist challengers while Randy Fine beat a neo-Nazi podcaster
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) campaigns outside of the Kings Point Clubhouse polling station on August 18, 2026, in Tamarac, Florida.
Florida Democrats and Republicans fended off extreme challengers against pro-Israel incumbents in Tuesday night’s primaries, indicating that the state’s older, moderate and notably Jewish electorate was uniquely inhospitable towards the anti-Israel left and the antisemitic right.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) handily defeated socialist challenger Oliver Larkin by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (64-36%), while Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) easily prevailed in a newly drawn district against a crowded field of challengers. Elijah Manley — the candidate running against Wasserman Schultz on the Democratic Socialists of America, anti-Israel platform — lagged in third place, with just 13% of the vote.
Moskowitz will still be facing a competitive general election in a district that President Donald Trump carried. Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer won the Republican nomination and, like Moskowitz, is an outspoken supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
On the Republican side, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) dominated over a neo-Nazi podcaster who made hatred of Jews the central message of his campaign. Fine won renomination with 57% of the vote, while the antisemitic Dan Bilzerian tallied 17% of the GOP vote. And in the governor’s race, James Fishback, who used racist and antisemitic messages as part of his campaign, lagged well behind the Trump-endorsed winner, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), finishing in third place with just 10% of the vote.
Donalds will face former Rep. David Jolly (who served as a Republican in Congress before switching to the Democratic Party) in the general election.
In another victory for the GOP mainstream, former TV anchor Ryan Elijah ousted scandal-plagued (and also Trump-endorsed) Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who has been dogged by a series of investigations related to alleged domestic violence and harassment, financial misconduct, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and alleged use of his office for his own financial gain.
But the big surprise of the night came in the Democratic primary to determine a Democratic nominee against appointed Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), who was tapped to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Alex Vindman, the star witness in the first impeachment hearing against Trump, lost badly to DSA-backed challenger Angie Nixon despite being supported by national party leaders.
Nixon, a Florida state legislator and community organizer, holds staunchly anti-Israel views, having repeatedly called Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and campaigning with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in a preelection rally last weekend.
The outcome means that Moody will be heavily favored to win election in November, taking away any Democratic outside hopes of winning the seat with a more mainstream standard-bearer.
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