Former Deutch Legislative Aide Considers run for Congress

With prominent Democratic elected officials expressing interest in replacing the retiring Rep. Ted Deutch in the U.S. House of Representatives, a new name that is being circulated around Democratic circles is Foreign Policy expert and a member of the FAU Advisory counsel, Tara Laxer.

Laxer, who like former Rep. Jared Moskowitz (also considering a run for Rep. Deutch’s seat) graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was the legislative aide in 2006-2010 to then-state Senator Ted Deutch and is said to be strongly considering a congressional run in Florida’s 22^nd Congressional District.

Laxer’s foreign policy bona fides are beyond reproach:

— Worked with Sen. Deutch on the first law in the country to divest state funds from Iran/Sudan Divestment.

—In 2010, Laxer was hired by United Against Nuclear Iran to a consultant on Iran/Sudan divesture for United Against Nuclear Iran, where she led the efforts to pass over a dozen pieces of legislation with both Democrats and Republicans in Florida and throughout the country with all the Jewish Federations across South Florida.

— Laxer co-founded the Advisory Council of Women, Sex and Gender Studies to assist funding, programming, and advocacy to address rape, human trafficking, and equality.

In addition, Laxer has become one of the loudest voices of opposition against antisemitism and for women’s rights.

Former State Rep. Moskowitz is considered the early frontrunner in the race, but could someone like Laxer mount a viable campaign running on an anti-Semitism/Pro-America foreign policy agenda, could the race eventually boil down to Laxer and Moskowitz?

Both Moskowitz and Laxer are considering Liberal Democrats, and not Progressive Democrats cut from the same political cloth as Reps. Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The Floridian recently reported that Moskowitz has been actively reaching out for support to elected officials, but now we are hearing that Laxer could be doing the same and some believe that she would be a “strong candidate” the would likely be an anti-House Squad” legislator, were she to decide to run for her former boss’s congressional seat.

We reached out to Laxer for comment but she has not responded.