After socialist Zohran Mamdani’s primary win in New York City, a Florida mayor spent taxpayer dollars on ads in the Big Apple to try to convince people to move to his city. Now, he’s criticizing his opponent for doing exactly that as the two battle for the GOP nomination in a pivotal battleground congressional district.
Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who left his role as mayor in March 2026 because of term limits, has slammed his opponent Dan Franzese for moving from Florida to New York, a year after Singer ran nearly $100,000 worth of ads in New York City, urging businesses and disaffected New Yorkers to move to Boca Raton.
At the time, Mamdani’s campaign agenda focused on providing services such as free city bus service, childcare, government-run grocery stores, and increasing taxes on the wealthy.
Singer’s largest expenditure came in the form of a $70,000 taxpayer-funded advertising campaign in Times Square to attract out-of-state businesses to relocate. The ad, which included a link and ran from July to September 2025, had received only around 2,600 clicks by last December, WPTV reported at the time.
“Is there even a comparison between @CityBocaRaton and NYC? In Boca we look to lower taxes, not raise them,” Singer wrote on X, just days after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, hoping to attract New Yorkers adverse to Mamdani’s policies. “We prioritize public safety and fund our police department. We make it easy to open a business with concierge services. Ping @BocaDev to make your next move your best move!”
Singer and Franzese are in a tough primary to be the Republican nominee for Florida’s newly redrawn 25th District, as Singer’s campaign has railed against Franzese as a “repeat loser” for previously owing taxes in New York and “just” moving to Florida from New York. Singer also claims he does not live in his district on a website called “Dishonest Dan Franzese.“
Singer argued that Franzese was just a “political tourist,” pointing to a previous unsuccessful political run.
“Regarding just moving here from New York: he moved here a few years ago and decided to run against Lois Frankel,” Singer told the Washington Examiner. “He was unsuccessful. Now he is carpetbagging into this district, one that he doesn’t live in, for another shot versus another vulnerable Democrat.”
“I was born here, raised here and led here as Boca Raton’s mayor,” he said. “In fact, I have lived here for more than 40 years and my wife and I are raising our family here. I’m a 40-year resident who knows the communities across all three counties firsthand — not a political tourist in Dan Franzese’s case.”
Franzese hit Singer back, calling him a hypocrite.
“Scott Singer is shameless,” Franzese told the Washington Examiner. “Because his record as Boca mayor includes pushing gun control, radical climate policy and Muslim Heritage Month, dishonesty and hypocrisy are his only campaign tactics. It’s no wonder a third of Republicans say they’ll refuse to vote for him if he’s the nominee.”
The city also paid nearly $20,000 to be featured in the New York Yankees magazine.
UNDER THE RADAR PRIMARY RACES YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING THREE MONTHS UNTIL MIDTERM ELECTIONS
“This ad is business focused, designed to raise awareness among decision-makers, particularly CEOs and corporate executives in high-cost urban markets, about the significant financial and lifestyle advantages of doing business in Boca Raton and incentivizing companies to relocate their HQs to our City now or in the future,” the city responded to The Boca Raton Tribune. “A discounted ad opportunity was offered to the City during the Mayor’s recent media interviews in the NY/national market.”
Whoever prevails in this primary will most likely face Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), whose new district is now labeled one of the four Democratic “toss-up” seats by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, after the state redrew its map.