Voters Head to the Polls for Primary Elections in Florida

In Florida, voters head to the polls for primary elections today, with progressive challengers looking to unseat powerful incumbent Democrats. In Broward County, union organizer Oliver Larkin is seeking to upset Congressmember Jared Moskowitz. Larkin is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who supports Medicare for All and an end to U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. Moskowitz has heavy support from donors associated with AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, as well as the artificial intelligence super PAC Leading the Future. Elsewhere, Democratic Congressmember Debbie Wasserman Schultz faces a crowded field as she seeks a 12th term in Congress. Wasserman Schultz is running in the newly redrawn 20th District in southeast Florida, which is heavily African American. She faces four Black primary challengers, including progressive Elijah Manley, a democratic socialist campaigning on universal healthcare and a federal jobs guarantee. Wasserman Schultz led the Democratic National Committee during Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid in 2016. She resigned her post in July of that year after WikiLeaks revealed DNC staff favored Clinton over Bernie Sanders during the primary. Meanwhile, President Trump voted by mail in Florida’s Republican primary, despite repeatedly attacking mail-in ballots and signing an executive order earlier this year to curb voting by mail. www.democracynow.org