Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) leaves the US Capitol after the last votes of the week on Sept. 4, 2025. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Florida voters mostly delivered a series of setbacks Tuesday to antisemitic and anti-Israel candidates, while handing decisive primary victories to several prominent pro-Israel candidates in widely watched contests that offered a sigh of relief to supporters of the Jewish state.

The clearest rejection came in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Fine, a Jewish and strongly pro-Israel lawmaker, overwhelmingly defeated social-media personality Dan Bilzerian. Fine received 56.9 percent of the vote, compared with just 18.7 percent for Bilzerian.

Bilzerian’s campaign became nationally notorious for its antisemitic rhetoric, including praise for Adolf Hitler and attacks targeting Fine’s Jewish identity. His campaign also used AI-generated imagery to mock the congressman. The rhetoric drew condemnation from both Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Bilzerian, a scandal-plagued social media personality, largely centered his campaign around his virulent hatred of Jewish people. He diagnosed that the key issues for the US can be sourced to “the real root cause of the problem, which is Jewish supremacy.” He wrote that his campaign would aim to “End Jewish Supremacy” and proclaimed that “this country is being run into the ground by Jewish Special Interests.”

Fine’s victory was particularly significant because the race offered Republican primary voters an unusually stark choice. Fine has himself attracted criticism for inflammatory statements concerning Muslims and Palestinians, but Bilzerian made antisemitism a conspicuous feature of his campaign. In the end, nearly three times as many Republican voters chose Fine as chose Bilzerian.

Another prominent figure on the far-right fringe, James Fishback, also failed to break through in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Fishback, who had attracted attention for inflammatory rhetoric and associations with the online far right, finished a distant third with 10.5 percent of the vote, far behind US Rep. Byron Donalds (47.8 percent) and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (25.2 percent).

Fishback has drawn criticism for relentlessly attacking Israel and veering, at times, into antisemitic discourse. While addressing students at the University of Central Florida back in February, Fishback said he “will not visit the country of Israel under any circumstances.” The candidate went on to mock the Western Wall, calling it a “stupid wall.”

Fishback has also criticized Donalds for arranging a forum at a south Florida synagogue, accusing the congressman of expressing favoritism toward Jewish people. The insurgent candidate further came under fire for praising supporters of antisemitic social media personality Nick Fuentes as “patriots” and “civil.” He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and stated that the supposed “genocide” should be taught in Florida public schools. The failed candidate also disparaged the food quality in the state’s public schools as “goyslop,” an antisemitic term popularized online.

The Republican results were matched by a series of victories for pro-Israel Democrats.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken supporters of Israel and a prominent Jewish voice in Congress, decisively defeated Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger Oliver Larkin in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 25th Congressional District. Moskowitz won 63.5 percent of the vote, dealing a significant blow to the effort by the party’s activist left to unseat him. According to reports, Moskowitz dominated in heavily Jewish regions of the district such as Palm Beach.

Larkin had criticized US military assistance to Israel and campaigned from the party’s progressive left. He accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza. Moskowitz, by contrast, has consistently defended Israel and has emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent congressional advocates for the US-Israel relationship. His fierce defense of Israel has made him somewhat of an outlier in a party increasingly critical of the Jewish state.

The victory was particularly notable because the redrawn 25th District is significantly more competitive in November, meaning Democrats will need a candidate capable of holding the seat in a difficult general election. US President Donald Trump won the district by 9 points in the 2024 election. Moskowitz will now face Republican Scott Singer in this year’s general election.

Following the race, Moskowitz mocked antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has promoted several far-left, anti-Israel candidates in Democratic primaries, writing on X/Twitter, “My condolences to @hasanthehun.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, another prominent Jewish Democrat and longtime supporter of Israel, also secured her party’s nomination in Florida’s 20th Congressional District. She won 45.6 percent in a crowded Democratic primary, comfortably defeating her nearest competitors. Like Moskowitz, Wasserman Schultz has repeatedly defended Israel and its leadership from allegations of “genocide” in Gaza and has worked to reassure her constituents that the Democratic Party still maintains sizable support for Israel.

Together, the victories by Wasserman Schultz and Moskowitz provided a counterweight to the surprise victory of Democratic socialist Angie Nixon in the Senate primary. Nixon defeated former national security official Alex Vindman, demonstrating that Florida Democrats remain divided over the direction of the party.

However, Nixon is considered to be an overwhelming underdog in the general election for the Florida Senate given the state’s large Cuban diaspora and its longstanding opposition to socialist policies.

The pattern was striking enough that the results became a broader test of the political viability of antisemitism and anti-Israel activism in Florida.

Following his triumph, Moskowitz told Politico Playbook that DSA-style insurgent politics are not viable in a state such as Florida.

“Florida is known for hurricanes, and so the DSA is a disaster area in Florida — and there’s no federal reimbursement coming to help these people,” Moskowitz said.

“They’re anti-American at their core,” he said of DSA political hopefuls. “People who have said anti-American things and have said things that are pro-Russian and pro-China, should they really get a security clearance?”

The results do not mean that anti-Israel politics lack an audience in Florida. Though Fishback lost resoundingly, spectators note that he performed exceptionally well in communities with a preponderance of young people, indicating that antisemitism still can be a viable political strategy for those seeking to garner popularity among the youth vote.

In a political environment in which Israel has become increasingly polarizing within both parties, Florida’s primary results suggested that pro-Israel candidates remain capable of defeating challengers from both the anti-Israel left and the antisemitic right. These results are exceptionally pronounced given the stunning success of anti-Israel candidates in states such as New York, Michigan, and Colorado in Democratic primary competitions.