Debbie Wasserman Schultz has never backed down from a fight, and she\u2019s not about to start now.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s an obvious target of the illegal redrawing of Florida congressional districts, orchestrated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his hyperpartisan Republican allies in the Legislature. In a rushed special session last month, they chopped Broward into multiple pieces, seeking to weaken Florida\u2019s most heavily Democratic and cohesive urban county.<\/p>\n
Wasserman Schultz\u2019s solidly Democratic southwest Broward district no longer exists. That area is now tethered to an oddly shaped district that stretches across the Everglades and west to Marco Island near Naples, then north to Pahokee near Lake Okeechobee.<\/p>\n
If this bizarre map survives court challenges, Broward will be a political orphan, split among five different districts \u2014 the 20th, 22nd, 24th, 25th and 26th.<\/p>\n
Marginalizing Broward<\/p>\n
That\u2019s no accident. It\u2019s a calculated strategy to minimize the influence of the state\u2019s strongest Democratic county by making it an afterthought, an appendage of districts tied to neighboring counties. Voters in Broward must do all they can to make sure that does not happen.<\/p>\n
Wasserman Schultz has spent weeks analyzing how to keep serving Broward.<\/p>\n
She announced Friday what was viewed as inevitable: She\u2019ll seek re-election in the 20th District, the only one entirely within Broward. Its voting age population is 42% Black, 30% white and 23% Hispanic, a microcosm of the county.<\/p>\n
A crossroads moment<\/p>\n
This is a crossroads moment in Broward\u2019s evolution. Democrats must decide what\u2019s more important \u2014 a candidate\u2019s race or the breadth and depth of elected experience.<\/p>\n
For more than three decades, much of the contested territory was represented by the iconic Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021. Since then, the district\u2019s representation has been non-existent or deplorable.<\/p>\n
DeSantis waited nearly a year to call a special election after Hastings\u2019 death. The eventual winner, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, was forced to resign last month following her indictment on federal fraud charges.<\/p>\n
Wasserman Schultz, 59, is far and away Broward\u2019s best-known political leader. Her institutional knowledge, experience and seniority are especially needed during this time of upheaval.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot at stake. I\u2019ve had so many people say that we can\u2019t afford to push the reset button,\u201d Wasserman Schultz said. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to start from scratch, in who represents us. That\u2019s the feedback I\u2019m getting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Never lost an election<\/p>\n
In a 34-year career, Wasserman Schultz has never lost an election. She has been a champion of abortion rights, better healthcare, child drowning prevention, equal pay, and maternal and child health. She worked with Hastings to ease community tensions after an officer shot an unarmed Black man in Missouri a decade ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n She was first elected to the state House at age 25. She\u2019s a mother of three children, including twins, and is a breast cancer survivor.<\/p>\n As her Broward district became increasingly diverse, she took Spanish immersion lessons to better relate to her Hispanic constituents. She has regularly attended church services across Broward, including at The Faith Center, a Sunrise church with a large Black and Caribbean congregation (at the site of the former Sunrise Musical Theatre).<\/p>\n She works diligently to stay in touch with constituents, but this may be a campaign like no other, because the highly sensitive and polarizing issue of race hovers over the district.<\/p>\n Black candidates will portray Wasserman Schultz as a carpetbagger who is parachuting into the district to prolong her political career.<\/p>\n Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale, said she considered running for Congress, but said on Friday she plans to remain in the Legislature. Osgood said Wasserman Schultz will face a much tougher fight than she\u2019s expecting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not being racist. It\u2019s just a different lived experience,\u201d Osgood said. \u201cI\u2019m for fair representation of all communities.\u201d<\/p>\n A need to coalesce<\/p>\n If Black political leadership in Broward County wants to prioritize Black representation in Congress, then those leaders need to coalesce around one credible candidate with support across racial and ethnic lines.<\/p>\n So far, that person has not emerged.<\/p>\n Instead, a thin field of Democratic rivals is lining up to stop Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n They include the rapper and community activist Luther Campbell; Elijah Manley, who has run for Congress before; and former Broward Mayor and commissioner Dale Holness, who has strong supporters and equally strong detractors.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Cherfilus-McCormick, who represented the previous 20th District for about five years. Awaiting trial on federal fraud charges, she resigned and says she will campaign to win it back. It seems highly implausible on its face.<\/p>\n If Wasserman Schultz were to be forced to step aside because of partisan gerrymandering, it means DeSantis wins. Is that what the people of Broward County want?<\/p>\n If she\u2019s forced out, Broward \u2014 and Florida \u2014 will lose 22 years of seniority on Capitol Hill that cannot be replaced. Wasserman Schultz is the senior Democratic member of Congress from Florida, second only to Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami.<\/p>\n The frustration and resentment felt by many in the Black community in Broward is completely understandable. But their anger should be directed at DeSantis \u2014 not Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. 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