Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz is an ideal candidate for Democrats to end a nearly three-decade-long slump for gubernatorial candidates.
Last March, Moskowitz confirmed his interest in running for Florida Governor to Politico.com, stating, “I’m not ruling it out. I’m looking at it, but it’s super early.”
Since Jeb Bush defeated Buddy McCkay in 1998, Republicans have controlled the Florida Governor’s Mansion and both chambers of the Florida Legislature. A devastating combination of poor planning and poor choices for candidates has plagued Democrats in gubernatorial races. Andrew Gillum edged out moderate Gwen Graham in a 2018 primary where the Bernie Sanders wing of the party ultimately became a liability instead of an asset, and Charlie Crist was the ultimate example of an obvious opportunist who never showed any true conviction.
For the past three decades, Florida voters have favored the candidate who seemed to offer more substance than style, even if it meant narrow victories in all but one of the races. Crist came off as too polished and calculated. Gillum was energetic but inexperienced and scandal-plagued. Alex Sink had the stigma of being the former CFO of Bank of America at a time when the nation was in recession and banking executives were public enemy number one.
Today, the Trump-endorsed Republican Congressman Byron Donalds is the odds-on favorite to win the GOP’s gubernatorial primary, even with Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis pondering her own campaign, but the Democrats have no major candidate in the field. To retake the state, they need a candidate who is sharp yet relatable. They also need a candidate who has not only shown that they’re capable of going toe-to-toe against tough-talking Republicans, but can work with them in times of crisis, when bipartisanship is most needed.
Jared Moskowitz would check all of those boxes. On the issue of immigration, he’s the only Florida Democrat who signed the Laken Riley Act. In February 2023, Moskowitz was one of only 11 Democrats who voted in favor of a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency. He not only supported the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he was the first Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus, and he proposed reorganizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by removing agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secret Service from its jurisdiction.
Speaking of FEMA, Moskowitz’s experience with Florida leadership includes serving under Governor Ron DeSantis as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, where he managed the state’s response to Category 5 Hurricane Michael as he entered the job. The state’s response to that hurricane, as well as the storms that struck the state during the other seasons during his term, was often cited as a main reason for DeSantis’ strong approval rating among Florida residents. Moskowitz also criticized 60 Minutes for running a story that claimed that DeSantis engaged in a pay-to-play scheme with supermarket chain Publix over distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, writing that “[n]o one” from DeSantis’ “office suggested Publix” to distribute the vaccines.
Considering all of those facts, it’s hard to imagine where Byron Donalds would be able to effectively attack Moskowitz on several major issues where Democrats are typically vulnerable. Only time will tell if Moskowitz throws his hat into the ring, but if he does, the Democrats may be able to win over enough moderate independents to pull off a major upset in 2026.
