With the Florida congressional district map redrawn, Republican George Moraitis has announced his candidacy for the new 25th congressional district.
"South Florida deserves a representative who will fight for our families, protect our freedoms, and deliver real results. That's why I'm running," said Moraitis in a presser. "We've been honored to have earned so much support from our community over the last year, and now we are the best-positioned candidate to win this race."
The Navy veteran and former Florida House Representative is facing stiff competition in the newly reconfigured district, with former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer presenting a particular challenge in the Republican primary.
Singer, who announced his campaign yesterday, has the endorsement of numerous Broward County leaders and has amassed a war chest of $1.3 million in the first quarter, which is more than double of Moraitis's Ballotpedia-estimated $483,925 in cash on hand as of the end of March.
But Moraitis has his own trump card in the form of several members of Congress endorsing his campaign, including Representatives Greg Steube (R-FL), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), Scott Franklin (R-FL), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), along with the endorsements of 20 other current and former local officials.
On August 18th, voters will decide whether Singer's bigger budget or Moraitis's congressional backing will lead to either candidate being the GOP nominee.
Until then, Florida is waiting to see if Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), whom Singer and Moraitis were initially competing to unseat from the 23rd congressional district, will run to continue serving in the new 25th congressional district. But Rep. Moskowitz has a challenge of his own, should he decide to run: the new 25th congressional district is considered a toss-up or Republican-leaning area, and competition could prove fierce.
Moskowitz is also being primaried, with self-identified Democratic Socialist Oliver Larkin seeking to replace him as the Democratic candidate.
