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Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz took a victory lap on X Tuesday after he was declared the winner over a democratic socialist challenger in Florida’s congressional primary, sending mocking “condolences” to Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who backed his opponent.
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed Oliver Larkin lost to the more moderate Moskowitz in the Democratic primary in Florida’s 25th District, the Associated Press reported. The heavily redrawn congressional swing district is among roughly two dozen House seats that will likely determine whether Republicans hold on to their razor-thin majority in the midterm elections.
“My condolences to @hasanthehun,” Moskowitz wrote on X.
Piker responded to Moskowitz’s call-out on X and wrote, “its pretty wild that his first thought was a prominent critic of israel, before even thanking his constituents lmao. really worried about his genocidal emotional support apartheid state.”
PRO-ISRAEL MODERATE SURVIVES PRIMARY CHALLENGE BY SOCIALIST INSURGENT
Moskowitz thanked his constituents on Wednesday in another post to X.
“I want to thank the voters of District 25 for continuing to have the faith in me to deliver results for Florida,” he wrote. “I want to thank my wife and kids who I have spent a lot of time away from. My dad died of cancer 4 years ago. He would have enjoyed all of this. I miss him. Onward!”
Moskowitz’s campaign did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“Democrats shouldn’t play hide the Piker now,” Moskowitz said after his victory, according to Politico Playbook. “For all those people who thought it was a great idea to campaign with him, as Jay-Z once said, ‘Bring ’em out, bring ’em out.’ They shouldn’t be hiding him now.”
Piker hit back in a comment to Playbook and said, “I’m genuinely concerned for his mental well-being.”
“I think he should stop posting on the internet and focus on defeating the Republican in his newly redistricted congressional seat,” Piker added, according to the outlet. Moskowitz then called DSA members “anti-American at their core.”
WHO IS HASAN PIKER? MEET THE FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO IS STIRRING UP CONTROVERSY AND DIVIDING DEMOCRATS
Piker has been a political flashpoint within the Democratic Party, as a debate over whether the party should embrace or distance itself from the streamer has taken shape.
The streamer has campaigned with far-left candidates, including Francesca Hong, who lost her gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin, and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, among others.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said during an interview in early August that the party should include people like Piker, and said that the streamer reaches a lot of voters. Others, like Democratic strategist James Carville, have said they don’t want to belong to the same political party as Piker.
Commentator Kaivan Schroff told Fox News Digital that Piker would likely be taking a similar victory lap had Larkin won the race.
“One of the asymmetries in Democratic politics right now is that when a DSA candidate wins, it is immediately treated as evidence of some enormous ideological realignment in the party,” he said. “When a more moderate Democrat wins, there is usually much less hype and almost no corresponding narrative.”
“We saw that with David Crowley beating Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, and now Moskowitz has beaten a DSA-backed challenger in Florida,” Schroff continued. “Imagine the coverage if the result had gone the other way, and imagine the victory lap Hasan Piker and the online left would be taking right now.”
“I actually think there is value in Moskowitz picking this fight,” he added. “Piker backed his opponent and made himself part of the race. By going after him publicly, Moskowitz is forcing people to tell the other side of this story, and frankly, here we are talking about it because he did.”
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After El-Sayed won his race in Michigan, Piker rejected calls for the Michigan Senate candidate to repair relationships with skeptical Democrats during the candidate’s election event at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit, even as the candidate promised reconciliation ahead of the general election against Republican Mike Rogers.
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“Like everyone being like, Abdul has a f— ton of work to do mending bridges. Here’s the f—ing take nuke for you, OK? You are all unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of s—, OK?” Piker said.