GOP challenger tears into Dem's 'moderate' image: 'Votes with the squad 90% of the time'
Republican congressional candidate Scott Singer is making the case that party, not just policy, will be decisive in his closely watched South Florida showdown with Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz, arguing that the incumbent’s moderate, pro-Israel image is at odds with his voting record and the direction of the Democrat Party.
Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton, told Fox News Digital that he believes his record of cutting taxes and reducing crime at the local level, combined with unwavering support for Israel, gives voters a clear contrast in Florida’s newly redrawn 25th Congressional District.
"Well, it is a tough cycle, but people understand the real Jared Moskowitz, one who votes with the squad 90% of the time, voted to put [Rep.] Ilhan Omar [D-Minn.] on the Foreign Affairs Committee, has passed no bills in Congress, but traded $4.5 million worth of stocks since he's been there. This district, after redistricting, is now a Republican plus five district," Singer told Fox News Digital.
"It takes in all of Boca Raton, where I was mayor for eight years, cut taxes, red tape, and crime, and goes down to Miami Beach, where I was born, and Fort Lauderdale, where I was raised," he continued. "Moskowitz doesn't live in the district, he's not from the district.
"But beyond that, the Republican plus five, a trend in Jewish voters, of which we have 25% … in our district, moving more conservatively, and people who are opposed to socialism and communism, which he will not denounce, understand that this is a critical race for House leadership, and they want someone like me, a local leader with a record of results."
Singer's business-friendly fiscal conservatism is the cornerstone of his campaign, and provides the policy framework for his priorities on Capitol Hill.
"Well, it gives me the record of results one would need. As mayor of Boca Raton, not only did we have the lowest property tax rate of any full-service city in Florida, I cut the tax rate seven times. I cut red tape, 21 streamlining initiatives," he said. "I cut crime by more than 25% from what were 40-year lows. Those are a record of results that people can relate to, because we improved the quality of life, improved the job base, lowered taxes, and made our streets safer."
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Singer continued: "That's what we want right now in America. We want secure borders, not like the porous borders that Jared Moskowitz supported under [former] President [Joe] Biden that have increased crime and ravaged communities. They want tax relief, not the tax hike that he voted for. $4 trillion, including taxes on Social Security, tipped workers, small businesses and families that are hurting. Now he's trying to come around with a modest talk of the gas tax reduction.
"He had the chance to vote on taxes and repeatedly has voted for higher taxes. People want a leader with a record of results. That's what I bring."
While Moskowitz has carefully cultivated a moderate image during his tenure in Congress, Singer disputes that characterization.
"No, he's not. He's been voting in lockstep. He's already said he'll vote for whoever the Democratic leadership is. And you can see that we'll have committee chairs like [Rep.] Rashida Tlaib [D-Mich.] and AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.], if heaven forbid, the Democrats win Congress," Singer said. "He already voted for Ilhan Omar on Foreign Affairs, despite his talking about her statements being bad, he voted to keep her in charge of foreign affairs in our country."
Added Singer: "He's voted for tax hikes again … He says he's strong on Israel, but he voted against US-Israeli cooperation, when other Democrats were willing to cross the aisle. And then just a few weeks ago, he would not denounce socialism, even though other Democrats would. He's trying to have it out both ways, but his record is really Democratic, really liberal, 90% with the squad."
Both Moskowitz and Singer both position themselves as strong supporters of Israel, but Singer argues that membership in today's Democrat Party makes effective advocacy for Israel difficult.
"I'm a stronger supporter for Israel. I would never have put Ilhan Omar on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I would not have, like he did, voted against U.S.-Israel cooperation in the NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act]," Singer said. "I would have not voted to undercut President [Donald] Trump's efforts and our military's efforts with the War Powers Act vote months ago when the U.S. and Israel were fighting against a common enemy.
"He's done all of those things because Democratic leadership requires him. And he admitted three weeks ago to Jewish Insider that he's being ostracized in his own party. He doesn't have any more chits to give in. He has to go with the way the majority is going, and that expanded squad is going to tamp out any voice he has.
"In my party, support for Israel is a feature, not a bug, and I don't have to moderate my views or vote in accordance with the majority…I can be a strong supporter for Israel without reservation. Jared's admitted he can't be and won't be."
Finally, while Singer said he is a strong supporter of the Trump administration's military engagement in Iran, he would like to see an end to the conflict soon.
"I think we need to have a resolution of this. I think we need to emerge victoriously. We have to remember that nuclear Iran is an existential threat," he said. "We have seen how dastardly, vicious, murderous this regime has been over 47 years. Their foreign policy is death to America. They've killed Americans, they'll kill more.
"And even since this conflict started, they've started attacking other nations who weren't combatants trying to widen the conflict. They support terror across the world. It's hurt America, it's hurt Americans, it's hurt our allies like Israel, and it's hurting the free world. We need to stop this.
"And I am optimistic we'll see a resolution soon. And that's a small price to pay. Even if we have some hiccups there, it's a smaller price to pay to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon."