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Some Black Democrats are frustrated with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Fla.) decision to run in a South Florida congressional district home to a large Black voting population, sparking an intraparty clash that is poised to become a defining battle of the campaign season.
Wasserman Schultz, a veteran lawmaker who has served in Congress since 2005, is running in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which had been represented by former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) for four years before she resigned in April. Wasserman Schultz’s bid comes after GOP-led redistricting efforts in the state reshaped her current 25th District, making it far more favorable for Republicans.
But her political opponents and other critics argue that her move not only disregards the district’s unique history and undermines opportunities for Black political representation, but is also a slight to Black voters.
“I think, for sure, it was a bad move by the congresswoman to run in this district. It was selfish and all about her, her career, and not about the community. She failed to do any meaningful dialogue with the community before announcing her run, and it comes off as a hostile takeover of the district,” said Elijah Manley, a 27-year-old Black Democrat and progressive organizer running against her in the primary.
“I mean, so many people she ignored and didn’t have conversations with, from the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, and the chair of that caucus as well, to the Black elected officials.”
Some of the other Black Democrats Wasserman Schultz faces in the Aug. 18 primary are Cherfilus-McCormick, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness and rapper Luther “Luke” Campbell.
Campbell said in a post shared on the social platform X that if Wasserman Schultz’s “strategy is to come in because there are multiple Black candidates and hope we ‘split the vote’ … that’s the same old playbook—divide and conquer.”
“This community deserves representation from someone who knows it, lives it, and fights for it,” Campbell added.
Wasserman Schultz has defended her decision to run, pointing to her decades of experience and leadership roles in Congress. She serves as the co-chair of the influential House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which assigns members of the caucus to committees and shapes party strategy.
“I know how to stand up for, fight for, and represent diverse communities, and the feedback that I’m getting all across Congressional District 20 has been enthusiastic and supportive, because they know this is a community — this is a district that knows me. I’ve represented nine of the 14 cities in this district. They know me, and I know them, and they know that they want someone who has the seasoning, the experience,” she told NBC’s Kristen Welker in late May.
The Hill reached out to Wasserman Schultz for further comment.
Still, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement to the Miami Herald earlier this month that she was “disappointed by the congresswoman’s refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue about her decision, especially after our democratic ecosystem coordinated so closely to stop Republican redistricting.”
Ten members of the Florida Democratic National Committee issued a statement arguing, “Our party cannot credibly denounce the dismantling of Black political power by Republicans while treating one of Florida’s few remaining majority-Black districts as a political opportunity for an incumbent seeking a safer seat,” the Miami Herald reported.
Manley said he and a few other Black candidates had discussed coalescing behind a single challenger to take on Wasserman Schultz, but that effort ultimately “fell apart.”
“It is what it is. You know, everybody has a right to run, and you know that didn’t work out. And there’s still a little bit of time. I mean, anybody could drop out at any point. Hopefully they do it before the ballot is printed, but it’s not, you know, people can drop out still and get behind someone else,” Manley said.
“But even with that being the case, I still think that Debbie can be beaten. I would get the idea that she’s going to win because the Black vote is going to be split. It’s possible, but I’m not going to concede the white vote to her,” he added.
Asked if he supports Wasserman Schultz’s run in the 20th District, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a press conference that he hasn’t “made a decision as it relates to that particular race.”
“Everybody has a right to run where they see fit. They’ve got to go make their case to the people that they hope to represent moving forward, and that’s what I communicated directly to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz,” he said.
“Obviously, she has a strong track record of accomplishment here in the Congress and on behalf of the people that she’s represented over the years in Florida. At the same period of time, I think we all recognize the sensitivities of the moment in terms of an unprecedented Jim Crow-like assault on Black political representation that has been unleashed by the Supreme Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act. And it’s an environment that all of us need to be sensitive to as we move forward,” he added.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, “Let the voters have their choice.”
“Certainly she is qualified and capable of running, and I have no problem with her running. I would have a problem with somebody saying she does not have the right to run,” Johnson said.
Caroline Vakil contributed.
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