Meet Oliver

Oliver Larkin’s South Florida roots run deep.

A campaign staffer and lifelong advocate for South Florida, Oliver has published writing in the Sun Sentinel as a community member speaking out about climate resilience, public land, water privatization, immigration justice, and the national media’s erasure of South Florida from major political debates.

Oliver's advocacy has spanned city halls, protests, and press pages. In South Florida, he’s fought the 100-year public land lease at Bahia Mar to luxury developers in Fort Lauderdale, protested the expansion of Waste Management’s toxic landfill at Monarch Hill across Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, and Coconut Creek, and stood with LGBTQIA+ communities demanding equality. He's demonstrated in Washington for policing reform. Oliver's work is always rooted in love—for his friends, family, and the South Florida community that raised him.

Born on the Fourth of July to an Army family, Oliver has spent his life working to help the United States achieve our founding promise.

Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Oliver grew up with a deep sense of duty to others. His parents taught him the values of hard work, integrity, and service. He attended Pine Crest School and later graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

As a high school student, he made phone calls for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and helped lead student climate efforts pushing for fossil fuel divestment. He went on to study English and History at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee, where he also played football. Like millions of Americans, Oliver carries student loan debt—a daily reminder of how broken our higher education system is.

Oliver didn't plan his way into politics—he lived it. When climate-denying Governor Rick Scott was re-elected in 2014, Oliver decided to act. After college, he was working in a restaurant, earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour when he contacted Bernie Sanders’ New Hampshire team, quit his job, and drove north to volunteer for a long-shot presidential campaign.

Oliver showed up every day until he was hired—starting as an unpaid volunteer and eventually leading the Portsmouth field office through Sanders’ upset victory in the New Hampshire primary. He went on to organize in states across the country, including Nevada, Kansas, Utah, New York, and Rhode Island.

In 2016, Oliver joined a communications firm in Washington, DC and helped unionize it with the NewsGuild-CWA—setting a new standard for how campaign workers should be treated. His work supported the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Senator Sanders’ Our Revolution, and the grassroots effort to pass Florida’s Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to over one million people.

While living in Washington, DC during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oliver joined the Democratic Socialists of America, protested for racial justice following the police murder of George Floyd, and experienced the unrest surrounding the January 6th Capitol insurrection. These moments deepened his belief that democracy and civil rights aren’t guaranteed—they must be protected and practiced. He went on to lead digital fundraising efforts for Democratic leaders including Senator Cory Booker and Senator Adam Schiff, supporting the kind of principled leadership the moment demanded.

Oliver returned home to Florida’s 23rd District in 2022 with his wife, Sandra. Like many in South Florida, they’ve navigated skyrocketing housing costs between rentals in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Deerfield Beach.

Since coming back home, Oliver has stood alongside families, educators, and LGBTQIA+ youth to protest groups like Moms for Liberty, the Proud Boys, and far-right school board members' hate-fueled attacks. Oliver is an active member of Broward DSA and continues working to build a more livable, inclusive, and just South Florida.

We deserve independent leadership that gets results. That’s what Oliver’s campaign is about.

Oliver Larkin believes Florida’s 23rd District deserves a progressive, effective leader who prioritizes public participation and town halls—two qualities missing in our current representation.

He brings a decade of experience on the front lines of Big Tech accountability, data privacy, and democracy reform. Unlike his opponent, Oliver will stand with his Democratic colleagues against partisan Republican censures. He will defend immigrant and Latino communities from Trump and ICE’s authoritarian abuses and kidnappings. He will protect IRS funding to hold billionaire and corporate tax cheats accountable. He will stand up for trans youth and their right to access healthcare.

Oliver will always defend the American people—and uphold our shared progressive values.

These are the principles South Florida deserves from its representative in Congress—not self-enrichment at the expense of our most vulnerable communities. It’s time for effective leadership.