Florida’s FL-25 Democratic primary produced one of the clearest rebukes of the DSA’s takeover strategy all cycle: incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz defeated DSA challenger Oliver Larkin 63 percent to 36 percent — a landslide in a race Hasan Piker personally invested in and fundraised for. Decision Desk HQ called it at 7:08 PM. Piker’s fingerprints were all over Larkin’s campaign. The result couldn’t have been more decisive.
Moskowitz’s victory statement said everything: “I faced a challenge from the DSA. They threw everything at me and I didn’t change who I am or what I believe, and the voters overwhelmingly chose the independent-minded approach I’ve brought to Congress.”
His message to Hasan Piker after the results came in was two words: “My condolences.” Two words. Chef’s kiss-worthy.
The significance of this result deserves to be understood clearly — and in contrast with what the DSA accomplished elsewhere on Tuesday. Donavan McKinney beat a Hakeem Jeffries-endorsed incumbent in Detroit. A Hasan Piker-backed socialist beat a sitting congressman in a Detroit suburb. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Senate primary by one point despite everything the establishment threw at him. The DSA had a very good Tuesday in several markets.
Florida was not one of them. Moskowitz won precisely because he refused to do what the DSA demanded. He refused to cease his support for Israel. He gladly accepted AIPAC money. He publicly called out the antisemitic hatred infecting his own party.
While Democrats elsewhere were calculating whether to stand with Israel or appease the activist base, Moskowitz drew his line and dared them to come for him.
Florida’s FL-25 Democratic primary produced one of the clearest rebukes of the DSA’s takeover strategy all cycle: incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz defeated DSA challenger Oliver Larkin 63 percent to 36 percent — a landslide in a race Hasan Piker personally invested in and fundraised for. Decision Desk HQ called it at 7:08 PM. Piker’s fingerprints were all over Larkin’s campaign. The result couldn’t have been more decisive.
redstate
Moskowitz’s victory statement said everything: “I faced a challenge from the DSA. They threw everything at me and I didn’t change who I am or what I believe, and the voters overwhelmingly chose the independent-minded approach I’ve brought to Congress.”
His message to Hasan Piker after the results came in was two words: “My condolences.” Two words. Chef’s kiss.
Decision Desk HQ projects Jared Moskowitz wins the Florida US House 25 Democratic Primary#DecisionMade: 7:08 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/i7N6dnctVZ
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 18, 2026
The significance of this result deserves to be understood clearly — and in contrast with what the DSA accomplished elsewhere on Tuesday. Donavan McKinney beat a Hakeem Jeffries-endorsed incumbent in Detroit. A Hasan Piker-backed socialist beat a sitting congressman in a Detroit suburb. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Senate primary by one point despite everything the establishment threw at him. The DSA had a very good Tuesday in several markets.
Florida was not one of them. Moskowitz won precisely because he refused to do what the DSA demanded. He refused to cease his support for Israel. He gladly accepted AIPAC money. He publicly called out the antisemitic hatred infecting his own party.
While Democrats elsewhere were calculating whether to stand with Israel or appease the activist base, Moskowitz drew his line and dared them to come for him. They came for him. He won by 27 points.
The lesson here matters enormously for understanding the DSA’s actual ceiling — not their primary victories, but their losses. They are strong in heavily progressive urban districts where their activist base constitutes a meaningful chunk of the primary electorate. They are weak in districts with larger Jewish communities, more diverse moderate constituencies, or incumbents with the courage to fight back rather than accommodate.
Moskowitz fought back. He won big. Fetterman fights back. His party keeps trying to primary him. The pattern is consistent: when establishment Democrats grow a spine and make the race about something real rather than playing footsie with the socialist wing, they tend to win.
The challenge is that most of them don’t have Moskowitz’s spine. Which is why the DSA keeps winning the primaries where it matters — in winnable general election seats with weak incumbents who calculated that appeasement was safer than confrontation.
Now Moskowitz faces Republican Scott Singer in a redrawn district that Republicans gerrymandered specifically to defeat him. He beat the DSA. He still has to beat Singer.
But Tuesday was a reminder: when Democrats actually fight the socialist takeover instead of capitulating to it, voters respond. Most of them still aren’t fighting.
