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Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a longtime Congressional Democrat, has announced her bid for Florida\u2019s District 20 following mid-decade redistricting. If elected, she would represent southern Coral Springs, as well as North Lauderdale, Lauderhill, Tamarac and surrounding cities.<\/p>\n
Photo by Joe Readle<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Four of the Black candidates running in the Democratic primary for Florida\u2019s 20th congressional district met in a closed-door meeting Monday to discuss coalescing behind one candidate in the hopes of beating U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n
Those present at the meeting, confirmed by three people, walked away with the clear focus that whittling the race down to Wasserman Schultz and a lone Black candidate would create the best opportunity to beat the congresswoman in a district that prior to last month was drawn to ensure Black representation.<\/p>\n
But as of Tuesday evening, Wasserman Schultz\u2019s opponents had yet to agree on who should carry that torch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re all going to come to some agreement before the end of qualifying,\u201d said candidate Elijah Manley, who was at the gathering along with Luther Campbell, Dale Holness and ex-Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a crystal ball, so I can\u2019t say what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Manley said on Tuesday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have an agreement last night but we did agree that we needed to consolidate. So that I believe is happening, and conversations are going on. They have been very constructive and fruitful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The maneuvering comes weeks after the Florida Legislature redrew the state\u2019s voting maps in a way that dramatically altered South Florida\u2019s congressional districts. The new map moved predominantly Black neighbors into white majority districts and split Wasserman Schultz\u2019s former district five ways, leading her to launch a campaign for the 20th District.<\/p>\n
Wasserman Schultz has said the Congressional Black Caucus and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told her that \u201cthey know I know our community.\u201d Jeffries touted her accomplishments, but stopped short of endorsing her<\/a> on Tuesday. Rep. Yvette Clarke, the CBC\u2019s chairwoman, said the caucus did not encourage Wasserman Schultz to run in the district.<\/a><\/p>\n Efforts to reach a spokesman for Wasserman Schultz were not immediately successful.<\/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. 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 \u201cIf we allow them to erase the history, we\u2019re back here all over again,\u201d said Cherfilus-McCormick. \u201cIn this moment across the South, there\u2019s been a clear attack on Black representation, Black people voting, and dilution. If we don\u2019t get up at this point, then we\u2019ll never get up.\u201d<\/p>\n Cherfilus-McCormick also called on the Democratic Party and allies to speak up about what Wasserman Schultz\u2019s presence in the race means regarding Black political representation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re not going to unify and fight with us, then maybe we have to reconsider where we actually align ourselves,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have been supporting every single Democratic person on the ballot, and for them not to support us in this moment is totally ridiculous, and we\u2019re not standing for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell told the Miami Herald Tuesday that the congressional race is a watershed moment for the Democratic Party at a time when Black voters \u2014 particularly Black male voters \u2014 have felt disenfranchised from the party.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, we all had a good conversion,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the main thing is beating her.\u201d<\/p>\n The deadline to qualify to make the ballot for the Aug. 18 primary is June 12.<\/p>\n This article previously mischaracterized comments U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz made about the Congressional Black Caucus and has been updated.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM.<\/p>\n
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