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Comment: Please refer to WP:NPOLITICIAN 🇵🇸🇺🇦 FiddleTimtrent FaddleTalk to me 🇺🇦🇵🇸 12:14, 23 June 2026 (UTC)
Oliver Larkin
editOliver Larkin | |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Florida's 25th congressional district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 4, 1992 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Member of the Democratic Socialists of America | |
Oliver Larkin (Born July 4, 1992) is an American democratic socialist, labor organizer, and political candidate seeking the Democratic nomination for Florida's 25th Congressional District in 2026.[1][2] He is the first candidate nationally endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in the 2026 election cycle.[2] A former labor union organizer,[1] Larkin has built a grassroots campaign centered on Medicare for All, a $25-an-hour minimum wage, immigration reform, and democratic structural reform.
Early life and career
editLarkin grew up in South Florida, in the area that now constitutes Florida's 25th congressional district.[3] Upon graduating from college, he was working as a line cook for the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, was burdened with student loan debt, and had family members experiencing health care crises not covered by insurance.[2] Rick Scott's reelection as Florida governor in 2014 prompted him to become more politically active.[2]
Larkin quit his job as a line cook to volunteer for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, eventually being hired as paid staff and traveling to six states to organize voter turnout efforts.[2] After the campaign, he worked at Revolution Messaging, a political advertising agency that had worked with the Sanders campaign, where he helped organize a union with the NewsGuild–Communications Workers of America.[2] He later worked on Adam Schiff's 2024 Senate campaign, managing fundraising email operations from a Deerfield Beach office.[4]
Political development
editLarkin has identified as a democratic socialist since at least 2015 and has been a DSA member since 2020.[2] His disillusionment with mainstream Democratic politics deepened during the 2024 election cycle, when he grew frustrated with the party's silence on the Gaza conflict and what he described as the corrupting influence of corporate money in Democratic campaigns.[4]
He announced his primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in July 2025, declaring his candidacy at protests near the Everglades immigration detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz."[4]
2026 congressional campaign
editLarkin is challenging Jared Moskowitz, whom he describes as one of the most conservative members of the Democratic caucus and a prominent supporter of Israel's military actions.[2] Larkin has criticized Moskowitz for supporting Donald Trump's strikes on Iran, being the first Democrat to join the House DOGE caucus, and for purchasing Lockheed Martin stock following Pentagon budget increases.[2]
His campaign has attracted significant grassroots support, with more than 600 volunteers.[1] Progressive streamer Hasan Piker featured Larkin in a broadcast during which viewers contributed just under $70,000 to the campaign.[4] Through March 2026, Larkin had raised almost $328,000, closing the quarter with about $183,000 in cash on hand.[3]
Redistricting and district shift
editIn spring 2026, Florida unveiled a new congressional map driven by Governor Ron DeSantis, which Larkin denounced as unconstitutional gerrymandering.[5][3] The map pushed both Larkin and Moskowitz out of the original 23rd District. In May 2026, Larkin announced he would run in the newly drawn 25th District — a coastal strip running from Palm Beach to North Miami Beach — describing it as the district where he grew up and where the majority of former FL-23 residents now reside.[3]
The new 25th District is considered a competitive general election battleground: Trump carried it by roughly nine points in 2024, though Biden had won it in 2020.[3] Larkin stated his support for ongoing legal challenges to the new map while committing to run in the 25th if the lines hold.[3]
Policy positions
editLarkin's platform includes Medicare for All, a $25-per-hour federal minimum wage, abolishing and prosecuting ICE, tuition-free universities, ending the Electoral College, removing the Senate filibuster, and publicly funded elections through the overturning of Citizens United.[5][1][2] He supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and has called for ending unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, describing Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide.[1][2]
Larkin has called for structural constitutional reform, including proportional representation, ranked-choice voting, and abolition of the United States Senate.[5] He describes these structural demands as inseparable from the economic fight for working-class people.[2] His campaign has also called for a Green New Deal that would incorporate a national disaster insurance program.[4]
On foreign policy, Larkin opposes the U.S. military operation against Iran, has spoken out against the decades-long embargo on Cuba, and describes himself as broadly antiwar.[1][2]
DSA affiliation and endorsements
editLarkin was the first candidate endorsed nationally by DSA in the 2026 election cycle.[2] His campaign is described as a chapter project of Broward County DSA; his campaign manager serves as cochair of that chapter and other key staff are DSA members.[2] Additional endorsements include Progressive Democrats of America, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Peace Action.[3]
If elected, Larkin has said he would work to create a socialist caucus in Congress alongside DSA-affiliated members such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, arguing that a small bloc of committed members can exert significant legislative leverage.[2]
Florida's congressional primary is scheduled for August 18, 2026.[5]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brooke Anderson, "Meet Oliver Larkin, a progressive congressional candidate hoping to help flip Florida blue," The New Arab, June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Jordan Bollag, "The Socialist Running for Congress in South Florida," Jacobin, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jacob Ogles, "Redistricting shuffle: Oliver Larkin is shifting candidacy to CD 25, if the new Florida map holds," Florida Politics, May 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Maureen Tkacik, "Oliver Larkin vs. the Epstein State," The American Prospect, May 7, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Luke Pickrell, "Oliver Larkin Is Ready to Fight for Democracy," DSA USA, May 2026.
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