… and if Ted Deutch runs for U.S. Senate, here’s the buzz on who might take his place

Not too many minutes after we went live with our post about Democrats buzzing about the possibility of U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch vacating his safe seat for a potential open U.S. Senate bid, buzz is already growing over who would replace him in the heavily Democratic 21st Congressional District.

Democratic operative Ben Pollara was recently quoted by the National Journal saying, “Anybody with an honorific in front of their name would be gunning for that seat.” And for good reason, win a Democratic primary there and the seat is likely yours for as long as you want it.

Both the National Journal and Palm Beach Post have reported on rumors that state Sen. Joe Abruzzo is considering a run for the Palm Beach-heavy seat. But the district encompasses a good portion of Broward County as well, leaving an opening for a strong contender from the southern end of the 21st district.

Second-term state Rep. Jared Moskowitz has been rumored to be considering making the run from his Broward-based district and there is a strong case to be made for him to do so.

While being a Democrat in the Florida House makes you a backbencher by nature, Moskowitz has not been content in that role. He has made a name for himself taking on the bipartisan issue of animal cruelty, introducing and passing (unanimously) HB 851, strengthening animal cruelty laws in Florida. He is again teaming up with Republicans in both houses of the Legislature this session to take that fight to greyhound racing operations in Florida.

And speaking of greyhounds, Moskowitz is the minority’s ranking member in the House Regulatory Affairs Committee, which will provide a strong fundraising perch for him, regardless of what office he seeks.

Of course, fundraising has never been a weakness for Moskowitz. He raised an unprecedented amount of money in his first campaign for state house in 2012, swamping a much weaker opponent. Jared’s father, Mike Moskowitz, is a bold-name attorney and Democratic power broker in Broward County. And Jared’s employer, AshBritt, has been a major source of campaign money for Democrats and Republicans across the country.

Moskowitz and Abruzzo are known to be close friends, so it remains unlikely they would run against each other (just as it remains unlikely the seat would be vacant), but either way, Moskowitz is a rising star in Tallahassee and South Florida who needs to be taken seriously for any race he is considering.