By Mary Hladky
In a widely anticipated move, Republican Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer has announced his candidacy for Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, hoping to unseat Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.
A strong supporter of President Donald Trump, Singer made clear in his Dec. 18 campaign announcement that, if elected, he intends to follow Trump’s lead.
“I’m running for Congress as an America First conservative who believes that we need leaders in D.C. who will work to build on President Trump’s success to secure our borders, defend our nation, cut waste, and bring taxes and costs down for all Americans,” he said on social media.
A video accompanying his announcement included a clip of a shout-out from Trump thanking Singer.
Singer also touted his record as mayor.
“As Mayor, I fought to keep taxes and crime low, while increasing investment in public safety, infrastructure and helping add jobs to our community,” he said.
Singer faces a crowded Republican field. Six other candidates include former state Rep. George Moraitis of Fort Lauderdale, and Joe Kaufman, who was the party’s 2024 nominee against Moskowitz.
The 23rd District covers Boca Raton and Highland Beach, runs west to Coral Springs and south into Fort Lauderdale.
It is now almost evenly split between Republican and Democratic voters. But that could change because Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislative leaders are planning redistricting of its boundaries ahead of the 2026 election.
Singer was first elected to the City Council in 2014 and has served as mayor since 2018. He is term-limited from running again and his last day in office is March 31.
Moskowitz was first elected in 2022 and reelected in 2024, both times by small margins.
Singer, a lawyer who graduated from Harvard and Georgetown Law, has maintained a high profile as mayor.
He successfully lobbied Brightline officials to build a train station in Boca Raton that opened in 2022, and followed that up by spearheading plans to create a transit-oriented development on city-owned land abutting the station.
He was the force behind creating a public-private partnership with developers Terra and Frisbie Group to redevelop the city’s downtown campus. That has proved to be contentious, with the residents group Save Boca pushing to kill the project.
Once it became likely that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani would win the New York City mayoral election last November, Singer launched a high-profile campaign to lure to
Boca Raton high net worth individuals and corporations opposed to Mamdani’s policies and plans.
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