![\"Congresswoman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/tfl-l-pam-bondi-iac-summit-05.jpg\" "\\"Congresswoman")
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Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz speaks during the 2026 Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit.<\/p>\n
Mike Stocker<\/p>\n
South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/p>\n
Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Friday she\u2019ll be running in Florida\u2019s Democratic 20th Congressional District, a safe blue seat that was historically drawn to ensure Black voters could elect a candidate of their choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot let Trump destroy Broward County\u2019s power,\u201d she said in a campaign announcement video peppered with endorsements from local leaders in Plantation, Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll use all my seniority and clout in Washington to continue to make our lives more affordable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her decision puts her in a heated Democratic primary against candidates who\u2019ve accused her of helping Gov. Ron DeSantis to weaken Black voters\u2019 political power.<\/p>\n
The 20th District was one of three Florida districts drawn by a federal court in 1992 under the Voting Rights Act as a remedy to racial discrimination, and led to the state\u2019s first Black members of Congress since Reconstruction: Corrine Brown in Jacksonville, Alcee Hastings in Broward County and Carrie Meek in Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n
Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted the 20th District when his office redrew Florida\u2019s congressional maps reversing previous interpretations of the federal Voting Rights Act and bolstering Republicans chances of keeping the House in the midterms.<\/p>\n
The changes moved majority-Black neighborhoods previously in the 20th District into surrounding white majority districts and weakened their collective voting power.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis district was established to remedy decades of racial exclusion and to ensure that Black communities have the opportunity to elect leaders who truly reflect their experiences and needs,\u201d the Florida Legislative Black Caucus wrote in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongresswoman Wasserman Schultz\u2019s decision to pursue reelection in this historically Black district, despite explicit requests from the Black community to seek candidacy in a neighboring district, is disheartening,\u201d the caucus wrote.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Where should Wasserman Schultz run for Congress? Not here, Black Democrats say<\/a><\/p>\n Florida\u2019s new voting map split Wasserman Schultz\u2019 former district five ways, leaving her with complicated options on where to run. Only a small portion of her former district is in the new 20th District.<\/p>\n She defended her decision to run there in an interview with the Miami Herald Friday, saying that she has represented 9 of the 14 cities in the district in the past, and had more than 100 conversations about the decision in recent weeks.<\/p>\n People in Broward County \u201cknow the kind of fighter I am,\u201d she said. \u201cThey know that I am a senior member of Congress, a senior appropriator, a member of Hakeem Jeffries\u2019 leadership team, and they know that I can continue to deliver immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n The other congressional districts she could have chosen to run in would have pitted her against colleagues like Rep. Jared Moskowitz in a Democratic primary, or placed her in a difficult general election in a district redrawn to favor Republicans.<\/p>\n Some of the Democratic leaders who urged her not to run in the 20th District said she was the only candidate with the funds to mount a serious bid in one of the newly Republican-favoring seats. She has more than $2.5 million in her campaign accounts, according to Federal Election Commission records.<\/p>\n Instead, she\u2019s now running a district that is all but guaranteed to be held by a Democrat.<\/p>\n The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to celebrate the announcement, with its deputy executive director Jack Pandol noting on social media that her decision leaves Florida\u2019s neighboring 22nd District, where Wasserman Schultz lives, \u201cripe for a GOP pickup.\u201d<\/p>\n Backlash to the decision<\/p>\n Jason Poreda, who drew DeSantis\u2019 new district maps, told the Florida Legislature that he started his process by breaking up the 20th District because it was drawn under the Voting Rights Act. He pointed to new court rulings, including a Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, as his justification to target the district.<\/p>\n The changes also ensured surrounding South Florida districts would favor Republicans, not Democrats in the November midterm elections. Voting rights groups are now suing over the new maps, but candidates have been preparing for the likelihood that the maps remain in effect through November.<\/p>\n Under the previous map, the population of the majority-minority 20th District was 53% Black, according to 2020 Census data compiled by Dave\u2019s Redistricting<\/a>, and the newly drawn 20th District is 45% Black. At least five Black Democrats are also vying for the seat.<\/p>\n One of those candidates, substitute teacher Elijah Manley, said Wasserman Schultz\u2019 decision to run there too flies in the face of political leaders \u2014 both Black and white \u2014 who called for her not to run because it would unnecessarily divide the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n He said she is \u201ccarpetbagging to FL-20, a black opportunity district instead of running in her own\u201d on social media Friday.<\/p>\n Manley told the Herald he believes Wasserman Schultz is hedging her bets on the seven Black candidates splitting votes, yielding an opportunity for her to be the Democratic nominee for the district.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not being an ally,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need somebody that understands not just our lived experience, but we need a stronger Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t the only one criticizing the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cWasserman Schultz\u2019s decision to run in District 20 sends the wrong message to Democrats all over Florida,\u201d another Democrat in the race, Rudolph Moise, said in a statement. \u201cThis district was not created as a political fallback option.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick held the seat until she resigned last month amid a misconduct investigation<\/a>. She is also running for re-election in the 20th District.<\/p>\n Wasserman Schultz said her decision to run in a safe Democratic seat increases the chances a senior member remains in Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking sure that the most experienced member of Congress, who\u2019s from Broward County, who\u2019s represented Broward for my whole adult life is able to continue to fight for us, is critical,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t start over with a beginner.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:04 AM.<\/p>\n