Photo: AFP
In our Election Spotlight this morning, the Republican primary in the newly redrawn Congressional District 25, which runs from Delray Beach south to Miami-Dade, where early voting is already underway.
It includes Boca Raton, where Scott Singer served as Mayor for eight years. The attorney and small business owner cites as his achievements...
"(I) lowered taxes seven straight times, increased reserves while balancing a budget, cut red tape, decreased crime 25 percent, worked to get Brightline, worked to get a public school, expand our park and green space and create hundreds of, excuse me, thousands of high paying jobs to improve our economy."
Singer points out that opponent Dan Franzese does not live in the district, to which Franzese points out that's not required by law or those casting ballots.
"I live a few miles away from the border of the district, but I can tell you this has not at all been an issue with voters. In redistricting years, these kinds of things happen, and especially in a very odd year like this one where they drew up the lines only two months ago...this has truly not been an issue with a single voter."
He works in finance and investment banking and touts his performance in a race against Representative Lois Frankel in a deep blue District 22 a couple of years ago. Franzese got 45 percent of the vote and says some Republican leaders asked him to run again.
"And I'm running on a platform of affordability, accountability, America First...I call that my 'Triple-A' platform. And I am a proud 100 percent supporter of President Trump and his policies."
Singer responds to Franzese's claims that he is a 'left leaning' politician and defends his visit to the Biden White House.
"Unlike candidates in this race who've lost a collective eight times, I was actually elected and was selected as a mayor, along with mayors from across the country, to represent my city. I consider that an honor. I don't have to agree with the President of the United States on every policy to be representing my city there."
Also in this race is Joe Kaufman, who was the Republican nominee in the last election against incumbent Democrat Congressman Jared Moskowitz. The districts have changed and Moskowitz is running in a Democrat Primary for District 25.
Kaufman is a counter-terrorism expert who's focusing his campaign on strengthening public safety, as well as other priorities. He says he could beat Moskowitz in this district, which favors Republicans by 3 points.
"And there's a big reason for that...because of the demographics of the area. My wife, daughter and I are very involved in the Jewish community, in the observant Jewish community. We reach all of the Jewish community. For decades, this has been the case. Jared (Moskowitz) couldn't compete against me in the last race because of that. He admitted many times that I destroyed his Jewish base."
Candidate Raven Harrison is an entrepreneur, business owner, conservative author and political strategist who says she first got into politics after her daughter was attacked in her California elementary school classroom for voting for Trump in a mock election.
She contends that she has the best chance to beat Moskowitz.
"I speak three languages, I have foreign policy experience and I am a strong conservative who has already been fighting. Who has more skin in the game than a mother whose daughter was assaulted in a school? Who has more skin in the game than somebody whose immediate family has 70 years of military experience? They will not trade up a Jewish candidate who gives them everything they want for one who does not."
Former State Representative George Moraitis is our fifth candidate. He's a U.S. Navy veteran and a partner with his law firm in which he practices primarily in the areas of real estate, probate, and estate planning.
On why he should get your vote...
"I have a proven track record of winning. Again, this is ultimately about taking on, defeating Jared Moskowitz or whoever the Democrat is in the General Election and preserving the House majority in the U.S. Congress. Without that, we're going to lose control of the agenda...President Trump's agenda, the Republican agenda, the conservative agenda, if we lose that. So I would say I'm the best because I've won every election. Secondly, I'm a veteran so I understand public service, national service, how our military works, what we can and cannot do and what it means to sacrifice for this country."
Hear more from all of the candidates on the issues in the audio players above.