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Oliver Larkin Answers FL-25 Voters After Jared Moskowitz Skips Out on First Scheduled Debate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2026

CONTACT: Vanlyn Ramsay,  press@oliverforcongress.com,  (305) 537-6026

Oliver Larkin Answers FL-25 Voters After Jared Moskowitz Skips Out on First Scheduled Debate

Full video and photos released after technical problems prevented viewers from watching Monday night's livestream

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL — Oliver Larkin showed up. Jared Moskowitz didn't.

Larkin spoke for 15 minutes and took questions directly from voters Monday night at a Congressional District 25 voter forum and debate hosted by the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus and Miami-Dade County Democratic Black Caucus at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the first scheduled debate of the FL-25 Democratic primary. Moskowitz left his seat empty.

His no-show fits a pattern. A WLRN report has documented Moskowitz's habit of avoiding voters, and he has not held a single in-person town hall since taking office in 2022. Earlier this month, the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board declined to endorse Moskowitz for the first time in any of his previous races, writing that his "continued avoidance of Larkin shows a lack of respect for voters and can be viewed as an unwillingness to defend his own record." The AFL-CIO also declined to endorse Moskowitz this cycle, after endorsing every other Democratic incumbent in Florida. 

His absence also spared him from answering for a record voters have been asking about for months: becoming the first Democrat in Congress to join Elon Musk's DOGE Caucus, casting the only Florida Democratic vote for the pro-ICE Laken Riley Act, taking Elon Musk's campaign money while calling himself a "twice-appointed Ron DeSantis Democrat," and voting against a measure to halt $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel that put him on the opposite side of more than 100 fellow House Democrats including Minority Whip Katherine Clark.

Moskowitz was also one of just 13 House Democrats who joined every Republican to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act, a 232-198 vote. Critics say the bill isn't a real stock trading ban since it still lets lawmakers sell their existing assets, and it carries a voter ID provision that voting rights advocates warn could make it harder for eligible Floridians to cast a ballot. Moskowitz has actively traded individual stocks throughout his time in Congress. He also voted against the Lebanon War Powers Resolution, joining Republicans to block a measure that would have halted U.S. military support for Israel's assault on Lebanon.

Because technical problems kept the planned livestream from working, the Larkin campaign has released the full video of his remarks and Q&A, along with a short recap video and event photos.

FULL VIDEO OF BLACK OLIVER SPEAKING AT THE BLACK CAUCUS EVENT HERE

Ahead of the forum, Larkin posted the following statement:

"Tonight, I'll be debating an empty lectern. Jared Moskowitz dropped out of tonight's debate hosted by the Broward and Miami-Dade Democratic Black Caucuses. He has never held a town hall in the new FL-25. Now he won't face its voters. I'll be there.

"This is precisely why the Sun Sentinel refused to endorse Moskowitz, citing his continued avoidance of Larkin and unwillingness to defend his own record. He had a chance to prove them wrong tonight. Instead, he proved their point.

"At a time when Republicans are attacking Black political representation across the South, Moskowitz backed out of a debate hosted by two Democratic Black Caucuses. He may believe incumbency means he does not have to answer to voters. He is wrong. I'll be there, ready to earn every vote."

Following the event, Larkin added, "I showed up because South Florida voters deserve a representative who actually answers to them. Jared Moskowitz had a chance to explain to Black voters in Broward and Miami-Dade why he joined DOGE, why he voted for Laken Riley, and why he keeps taking money from Elon Musk, corporate PACs, and other special interests. Instead, he ran and hid, again."

Moskowitz's own polling shows him struggling against Republican opponents that Larkin beats by a significant lead, and he has yet to commit to any future debate.

Larkin's campaign is building momentum on every front. He recently launched a new statewide TV ad set to air across ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX stations in South Florida, and his volunteers knocked on over 3,662 doors during a canvass kickoff this past weekend. His growing coalition of endorsements includes nearly 40 organizations and more than a dozen national and local leaders, from Jamaal Bowman, Nina Turner, and Sara Nelson to Hasan Piker and Cameron Kasky. That momentum mirrors a national wave of Democratic Socialist primary wins, including recent victories by Melat Kiros in Colorado, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania. Larkin was the first nationally endorsed DSA candidate this cycle.

About Oliver Larkin

Oliver is a Fort Lauderdale native and a decade-long progressive organizer, fighting for Medicare for All, a $25 minimum wage, the Green New Deal, universal childcare, free public college, paid family and medical leave, abolishing ICE, and an end to the US-funded genocide in Gaza. He rejects all corporate PAC money.

From leading a Bernie Sanders field office in 2016 to unionizing his workplace with the NewsGuild-CWA, Oliver took what he learned and put it to work in South Florida, organizing against luxury developers, fighting toxic landfill expansion, standing with LGBTQIA+ communities, and confronting groups like Moms for Liberty and the Proud Boys alongside families, educators, and students as an active member of Broward DSA.

For more information, visit oliverforcongress.com and follow the campaign on social media.

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