\u201cAt a time when aggressive redistricting has already weakened minority voting strength across Florida, the preservation of Black political representation is not optional. It is essential,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not need the easy win. We need the meaningful win. \u2026 And let there be no confusion about what is at stake in this moment: Black political representation in Florida is now on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The caucus, led by President Armando Grundy-Gomes, stopped short of condemning Wasserman Schultz, a longtime federal lawmaker, instead framing its position as an appeal to her record as an ally.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has consistently stood alongside Black communities through her advocacy, coalition building, legislative leadership, and public service. Because of that history, we believe she understands why preserving the integrity and representation of Congressional District 20 matters so deeply to Black Floridians across this state,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about political convenience. This is about political responsibility. We are asking Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to once again stand with Black communities by helping preserve the integrity, history, and representation of (CD 20) while leading the fight for Democratic victory in (CD 22).\u201d<\/p>\n The statement, published Wednesday, adds the caucus \u2014 a statewide political and civic organization affiliated with the Florida Democratic Party \u2014 to a growing chorus of Black leaders and organizations opposing Wasserman Schultz\u2019s entry into a district that has sent a Black member to Congress for more than three decades.<\/p>\n The controversy stems from a mid-decade redistricting plan<\/a> drafted by Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019\u00a0Office, passed by the Legislature<\/a> in late April, and signed<\/a> in early May.<\/p>\n The new map reshaped<\/a> Florida\u2019s 25th Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold in Broward County that Wasserman Schultz has long represented, into a coastal seat running from Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, through Broward County and into Miami-Dade\u2019s barrier island communities, including Miami Beach and Sunny Isles Beach.<\/p>\n It also reshaped CD 20 \u2014 previously a\u00a0majority-Black, safely Democratic seat most recently represented by former U.S. Rep.\u00a0Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick \u2014 into a plurality-Black\u00a0district where about 42% of voting-age residents are Black, 23% are Hispanic and 30% are White.<\/p>\n DeSantis\u2019 Office said the map, designed two years after GOP-led decennial redistricting halved the number of Black-performing districts<\/a> from four to two, was drawn in a \u201crace-neutral\u201d fashion in anticipation of a Supreme Court ruling<\/a> weakening the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n Three<\/a> separate<\/a> lawsuits<\/a> now challenge the map as a partisan gerrymander.<\/p>\n With her own seat gone, Wasserman Schultz announced last Friday<\/a> that she would seek re-election in CD 20 rather than run in either CD 25 or remapped CD 22, which stretches inland from Florida\u2019s southeastern coast to span parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties while extending deep into heavily Republican Hendry and Collier counties.<\/p>\n Wasserman Schultz lives in CD 22.<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with Florida Politics this week, she said her priority is preserving Broward\u2019s clout and power in Congress, citing her seniority and committee assignments \u2014 including her role as the No. 2 Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking sure that I would run in the place where I could make the most difference and have the most impact, that was critical in my decision,\u201d she said. \u201cThey chopped and put good chunks of my district in five different congressional districts, including in this one. I represent a majority-minority district now, and I know how to represent diverse communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Several notable Black leaders and organizations blasted the move.<\/p>\n The Florida Legislative Black Caucus called her decision \u201cdisheartening<\/a>\u201d and complained Wasserman Schultz had been less than communicative with the group, noting its Chair, state Rep. Felicia Robinson, had sought a pre-announcement meeting that went unanswered.<\/p>\n Two-thirds<\/a> of Florida\u2019s Democratic National Committee members condemned the move, saying the party \u201ccannot credibly denounce the dismantling of Black political power by Republicans while treating one of Florida\u2019s few remaining majority-Black districts as a political opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Shevrin Jones, a former Miami-Dade County Democratic Party Chair, longtime Wasserman Schultz ally and potential front-runner to succeed U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, if she retires, said he will not support<\/a> Wasserman Schultz if she stays in CD 20.<\/p>\n \u201cBlack representation is a non-negotiable for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sen. Rosalind Osgood of Tamarac Democrat, told Florida Politics she\u2019d discouraged Wasserman Schultz from running in CD 20 and called Democrats\u2019 post-redistricting position \u201creally unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Black CD 20 candidates Luther \u201cUncle Luke\u201d Campbell, Dale Holness and Elijah Manley, along with candidate Rudy Moise \u2014 who switched<\/a> to the CD 24 race this week \u2014 shared similar disapproval.<\/p>\n \u201cDivide the Black community and conquer them?\u201d Campbell said in a video<\/a> warning Wasserman Schultz against running in the district. \u201cDebbie, I know you\u2019re not going to try to do that, because if you do, you got to deal with me, sweetie boogie.\u201d<\/p>\n Holness, a former Broward Mayor, suggested Wasserman Schultz is taking an easier route to victory. CD 20 is almost guaranteed to go to a Democrat, he said, but CD 22 \u2014 an R+10 district \u2014 is still winnable for a candidate with her clout and war chest.<\/p>\n \u201cWith proper funding and support, we can win that district,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Manley, who feuded<\/a> with Cherfilus-McCormick<\/a> before her April resignation<\/a> amid corruption and campaign finance allegations, called Wasserman Schultz a \u201ccarpetbagger<\/a>\u201d who was \u201cabandoning her own district and constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is not different than the Republicans that are eviscerating Black representation across the South,\u201d he said. \u201cShe is everything that\u2019s wrong with the broken unpopular Democratic establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n Moise, a doctor, Air Force veteran and repeat congressional candidate, endorsed Campbell and Holness before departing the CD 20 fray. He said he \u201cstrongly\u201d disagreed with Wasserman Schultz running in the district, which he argued \u201cshould never be a political fallback plan or a vehicle for political survival while the very communities it was created to empower risk being pushed aside.\u201d<\/p>\n In terms of polling, the picture is fuzzy. A survey\u00a0that Wasserman Schultz\u2019s campaign commissioned in early May, before the district switch,\u00a0found her leading<\/a> with 52% support among likely Democratic Primary voters, with 80% overall favorability and about 85%\u00a0among Black and Caribbean American voters.<\/p>\n But polling Manley\u2019s campaign commissioned last month found 81% of likely Democratic Primary voters \u2014 including 93% of Black voters \u2014 believe it is \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important<\/a> that CD 20 be represented by a Black member of Congress.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CFPA-Digital-Ad-Sunburn-728x90-1.jpg\")
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