‘We need more champions in Congress’: Hillary Clinton endorses Jared Moskowitz

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, speaks against the parental trigger bill on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, April 4, 2013, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. House Bill 867: Parent Empowerment in Education, passed on a 68-51 vote. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Broward County Commissioner Jared Moskowitz’s campaign for Congress now has the support of arguably the most well-known female politician in America.

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton endorsed Moskowitz, who is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District.

The former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State backed Moskowitz, a former state Representative, in a brief Twitter post. She cited his successful work in the Legislature to enact better gun control measures following the Parkland tragedy as a reason.

“We need more champions in Congress to help prevent gun violence and save lives,” she wrote. (Jared Moskowitz) will be one of those champions.”

We need more champions in Congress to help prevent gun violence and save lives. @JaredEMoskowitz will be one of those champions. https://t.co/TTZ6vY8oSK

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 28, 2022

Clinton also retweeted a new campaign video Moskowitz posted to Twitter. The video features gun control advocate Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, was among the many killed during the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Gutenberg endorsed Moskowitz in March.

My friend @fred_guttenberg lost his daughter in the Parkland shooting.

In the aftermath, I worked with him & other MSD families to turn anguish to action. We stood up to the NRA to pass gun violence prevention laws in Florida.

I know we can do the same in Congress. Watch below. pic.twitter.com/O2PuC8Ihe0

— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) June 28, 2022

“I never imagined my life story would be about gun violence. Parkland wasn’t just about my daughter and the other 16 that were killed. It was so much bigger than that,” he said, adding that subsequent gun restriction legislation — the first of its kind in decades — wouldn’t have passed without Moskowitz’s impassioned support.

“This legislation could not have passed without an elected Democrat like Jared Moskowitz. The work he did is the reason we have life-saving gun legislation in Florida. I will always love Jared for what he did.”

Moskowitz is something of an anomaly in Florida politics, an outspoken Democrat who has repeatedly enjoyed support from the state’s top Republican, Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A former Parkland Commissioner, Moskowitz won a race for state office in 2012, when residents of northern Broward, including Coral Springs, elected him to represent them in the House. He won re-election three times.

He resigned early in January 2019 after DeSantis tapped him to run the state’s Department of Emergency Management.

Moskowitz’s management of Florida’s natural disasters and the outbreak of COVID-19 earned him the nickname “Master of Disaster.” He held the job until February 2021, when he resigned with DeSantis’ support.

Just nine months later, the Governor again called on Moskowitz to replace Barbara Sharief on the Broward County Commission. His term runs until November, when he hopes to win a seat in Congress representing CD 23, which spans Broward and Palm Beach counties.

A flood of elected officials, community leaders, organizations and unions have endorsed him. That includes recent nods from former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Broward Teachers Union.

Other candidates in the race include retired chiropractor Steve Chess, lawyer Jim Pruden and insurance broker Darlene Swaffar — all Republicans — as well as Democratic former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Ben Sorensen and no-party candidates Mark Napier and Christine Scott.