In what is among the nation's most closely watched midterm election matchups, Democrat incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Republican Scott Singer faced off Tuesday night in Boca Raton at Congregation B'nai Israel for a high-stakes congressional forum.
The candidates are vying for Florida's newly created 25th Congressional District, a coastal stretch running from Delray Beach in Palm Beach County to Miami Beach in Miami-Dade County. Both candidates are Jewish and about 25% of the district is comprised of Jewish residents.
Former President Donald Trump won the district by about nine percentage points in 2024, while former President Joe Biden won it by five in 2020.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report, one of the nation's most influential congressional elections analysts, says the district "leans" Democrat, meaning that it's a competitive race with Moskowitz holding a slight advantage over Singer.
The back-and-forth between the two candidates Tuesday night focused on Israel, antisemitism, foreign policy, and the future of Social Security.
Sun Sentinel Political Writer Anthony Man moderated the forum.
Rising antisemitism
Both candidates addressed the surge in global and domestic antisemitism, framing their qualifications through their respective party platforms.
Moskowitz, a two-term incumbent seeking a third term in the House, emphasized his direct experience handling threats and his legislative standing within his party.
"Listen to the antisemites who are trying to kill me ... every single solitary piece of legislation fighting antisemitism, standing up for Israel, has my name on it," said Moskowitz. He noted endorsements from pro-Israel groups like American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton, countered by arguing that Moskowitz is constrained by a leftward shift within the Democratic Party.
"My opponent talks a good game, but his votes tell a different story," said Singer, noting that some House Democratic members say Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide as evidence that "anti-Israelites have taken over the Democrat Party."
Israel attacked Gaza after Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. It led to a devastating war and, eventually, a fragile ceasefire. The Palestinian death toll from the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 74,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council concluded in a report last year that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected what it called a “distorted and false” report.
Anti-Israel sentiment and social media
Addressing claims regarding foreign influence and the spread of anti-Israel sentiment among younger populations, Moskowitz blamed social media campaigns operated by foreign governments.
"There is actually a psyop operation being run on the American people by the Chinese and the Russians," he said. "The Russians are running the bot operation, and the Chinese are running the operation on TikTok."
Singer proposed direct legislative action targeting foreign money in education, saying he would "ban any institution that receives foreign money from getting any federal dollars... I plan to introduce that bill the first day in Congress."
READ MORE: Rep. Moskowitz fends off progressive challenger in FL-25 Democratic primary contest
War in Iran, war in Ukraine
In talking about the U.S. conflict with Iran, Moskowitz said he broke ranks with fellow Democrats on on key national security votes:
"I supported the [President Trump's] strikes last year on the [nuclear] facilities [in Iran]. And I was one of the only Democrats in the country to do that."
Moskowitz, however, criticized Trump's overall war with Iran.
"The president's strategy on the Strait of Hormuz has been a total disaster... We have to make sure that the nuclear issue is solved."
Fuel costs have been soaring because of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war and the ensuing bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz, which have squeezed global oil and gas supplies. About 20% of world’s oil supply, roughly 20 million barrels per day, passed through the strait.
Singer, who supports Trump's war in Iran and got the president's endorsement, said "a nuclear Iran is an existential threat, not only to our nation, not only to our ally Israel, but to the world."
"We can never let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Singer said.
READ MORE: Trump endorses Republican candidate Scott Singer in competitive congressional race in South Florida
Ukraine-Russia war
On the war in Ukraine and Russian sanctions, Singer defended a temporary 60-day suspension of sanctions under the Trump administration: "I give the benefit of the doubt to our administration and to everyone who's looked at our war policy, our economic policy on a temporary suspension of sanctions."
Moskowitz criticized the move, linking the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran together. "President Putin is absolutely a war criminal... The Ukraine war and the Iran war are now linked," Moskowitz said, adding that exempting Russia from sanctions "will fund the war more... which means no end to the Ukraine issue."
Last week, Trump signed an executive order that put on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest.
As he's done in a barrage of campaign ads, Singer blasted Moskowitz over congressional stock trading.
"I'll vote to ban congressional stock trading," said Singer. "My opponent has traded stocks hundreds of times... and repeatedly violated the STOCK Act in less than four years of Congress."
Responded Moskowitz: "It's managed by an outside group. I comply with all of the rules and regulations."
Singer also touted his own record as Boca Raton's mayor, saying he "cut tax rates seven straight times, cut red tape to grow high-paying jobs, and cut crime twenty-five percent."
Future of Social Security
The two candidates had a sharp exchange over the future of Social Security, which faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.
The latest Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report states that Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.
Moskowitz argued that lawmakers must confront reality rather than offer "magic solutions." He backs lifting the maximum income subject to Social Security taxes.
This year's cap on Social Security taxable earnings is $184,500. It will increase to $192,300 for 2027.
"You're either gonna have to cut benefits, which I will never support, or you're gonna have to figure out how you get more money into the system, which is raising the cap," said Moskowitz, warning that inaction will force Congress into a last-minute crisis.
Singer criticized Moskowitz’s legislative record, arguing that Washington should focus on reducing spending and boosting the economy rather than immediately turning to tax increases.
"Mr. Moskowitz has been in the Congress for four years. The time for new ideas has long passed," Singer said. "We need to cut out the fraud and waste that is holding back this system, not so much in Social Security, but in every other department of the government."
When pressed on whether he would favor or oppose raising the earnings cap, Singer argued for a broader approach focused on economic expansion and labor market growth.
"The solution though shouldn't be how can we immediately tax? How do you grow the economy? How do we get people in higher paying jobs so that you can have more people paying into the system, encouraging people to work more and earn more?" Singer said.
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Visit Republican Scott Singer's campaign website here.
Visit Democrat Jared Moskowitz's campaign website here.
