Former state Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, said Monday he is running for Congress, seeking to unseat two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

“I have served my entire life in public service in the community. I just felt led to do this at this time,” Moraitis said in a telephone interview. “I really do want to see a better Washington. I do want to restore the American Dream for our citizens and protect our God-given freedoms. (Those) really are the reasons I’m running.”

Moraitis served in the state House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018, when he was prevented from running for reelection because of term limits. He is also a former Broward Republican Party chair , picked to take over the county party in 2018 and helping stabilize an organization that was marked by infighting.

Moraitis was an early and enthusiastic supporter of President Donald Trump, dating back to a time before the president’s first term when some other Republican leaders were skeptical of his candidacy.

His support hasn’t wavered. “I’m happy to see the cutting of waste, fraud and abuse,” he said. “There’s been a lot of pushback and that’s why he needs as much support as he can get up in Washington,” Moraitis said.

Among the issues Moraitis said he would focus on are strong borders, national defense, and an economy that rewards hard work and innovation.

“We want to support the Republican agenda.” He said he was glad to see the House Republican budget passed — but pointed to its narrow margin in a chamber where his party has only a slim majority.

If Moraitis won, he would be flipping District 23 from Democratic to Republican.

“The seat has become much more competitive in the last few years,” Moraitis said Monday. “We’re getting a lot more conservative in our area.”

He attributes that partially to the influx of people who moved to South Florida during and after the COVID pandemic. “People are starting to see the Republican policies are the right ones. “We are getting a lot more conservative in our area.”

Moraitis said he hasn’t yet spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson or to U.S. Rep. Rich Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the House Republican Congressional Committee, the party campaign organization for House candidates.

Moraitis, 54, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Navy veteran is a real estate lawyer who was born and raised in the district. He considered running for Congress in 2022, but opted against it. His wife, Heather Moratis, was a Fort Lauderdale city commissioner from 2018 through 2022.

“As a former state legislator, I’ve seen firsthand how the government can be a force for good — but also how it can fall short. It’s time to bring new leadership to Washington that’s willing to make tough decisions and put the interests of our citizens first,” Moraitis said.

Contest

Moskowitz is a former state legislator and former Parkland city commissioner. He was appointed as state emergency management director and to fill a vacancy on the Broward County Commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

He won his first congressional election in 2022 after longtime U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch opted against running for reelection so he could become CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

Moskowitz won his two congressional elections by the smallest margins of any House victory in the state. He received 52.5% of the vote in November, two years after he won his first term in the House with 51.6% of the vote.

Both times his victories were closer than other races that had been on the priority lists of the Democratic and Republican national congressional campaign committees.

Joe Kaufman, the 2024 nominee against Moskowitz, who narrowly lost, has already announced he plans to seek the 2026 nomination.

Kaufman had previously run several times in a different congressional district, against U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.

The Moskowitz-held 23rd Congressional District takes in northern Broward and much of the coast extending south through most of Fort Lauderdale and a share of southern Palm Beach County.

The potential for a Republican to make gains in the Broward part of the district is key. Republicans outnumber registered Democrats in the smaller Palm Beach County part of the district. Moskowitz lost Palm Beach County in both 2022 and 2024. He won both times on the strength of Democratic voters in Broward.

Even as South Florida becomes more Republican, it would be a mistake to count out Moskowitz. In 2022 and 2024 he did better than the Democratic candidates for president or governor at the top of the ticket did in his district.

In November, Trump lost the district by 2 percentage points, and in 2022 DeSantis won it by 1 percentage point, showing the territory is competitive.